S 


¥H, 


J, 


FAMO 

OIAN 

IAVE  KNO 

(XO.  HOWARD 

lOR-GENERAL, 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS 
I  HAVE  KNOWN 


For  many  months  there  were  battles — battles — battles  !  " 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS 
I  HAVE  KNOWN 


BY 

MAJOR-GENERAL  0.  0.  HOWARD 

U.  S.  ARMY 

WITH    ILLUSTRATIONS    BY 

GEORGE  VARIAN 

AND    BY    PHOTOGRAPHS 


NEW  YORK 
THE  CENTURY  CO. 

1908 


Copyright,  1907,  1908,  by 
THE  CENTURY  Co. 


Published  September,  1908 


THE   DE  VINNE   PRESS 


V\  f\  I NJ 


IN  HEARTY  RECOGNITION  OF  THE  SYMPATHY  AND  ASSIST 
ANCE   RENDERED   ME   IN   THE    WRITING    AND   RE 
VIEWING     OP      THESE     STORIES     OF      INDIAN 
CHIEFS,  I  DEDICATE   THIS   WORK  TO   MY 
DAUGHTER-IN-LAW,    MRS.    HARRY 
S.    HOWARD.       HER   SIMPLIFY 
ING    WILL     BE     HELPFUL 
TO  EVERY  YOUNG 
READER 


M5751G9 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I    OSCEOLA          3 

ii  BILLY  BOWLEGS  AND  THE  EVERGLADES  OP 

FLORIDA 19 

m  PASQUAL 38 

iv  ANTONIO  AND  ANTONITO 54 

v  SANTOS,   AND   ESKIMINZEEN   THE    STAM 
MERER       72 

vi  PEDRO  THE  IMITATOR,  CLEAR-EYED  Es- 
KELTESELA  AND  ONE- EYED  MlGUEL  — A 
VISIT  OF  WHITE  MOUNTAIN  CHIEFS  TO 
WASHINGTON 88 

vn  COCHISE,  THE  CHIRICAHUA  APACHE  CHIEF  112 
vin  MANUELITO  :  A  NAVAJO  WAR  CHIEF      .     .  137 

ix  CAPTAIN  JACK,  CHIEF  OF  THE  MODOC  IN 
DIANS  149 

vii 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTEE  PAGE 

x  ALASKA  INDIAN   CHIEFS:   FERNANDESTE, 

SITKA  JACK,  AND  ANAHOOTZ    ....  166 

xi  THE  GREAT  WAR  CHIEF  JOSEPH  OF  THE 
NEZ  PERCES,  AND  His  LIEUTENANTS, 
WHITE  BIRD  AND  LOOKING-GLASS  .  .  184 

xii  MOSES,  A  GREAT  WAR  CHIEF  WHO  KNEW 

WHEN  NOT  TO  FIGHT 199 

XIII  WlNNEMUCCA,  CHIEF  OF  THE  PlUTES   .     .  207 

XIV  TOC-ME-TO-NE,  AN  INDIAN  PRINCESS     .     .  222 

xv  MATTIE,  THE  DAUGHTER  OF  CHIEF 

SHENKAH 238 

xvi  CHIEF  EGAN  OF  THE  MALHEURS  ....  259 

xvn  LOT,  A  SPOKANE  CHIEF 278 

xvm  RED  CLOUD 287 

XIX    SiTTING-BULL,  THE  GREAT  DAKOTA  LEADER    298 

xx  WASHAKIE,  A  SHOSHONE  CHIEF,  THE 

FRIEND  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN    .     .     .     .313 

xxi  HOMILI,  CHIEF  OF  THE  WALLA  WALLAS   .  322 
xxii  CUT-MOUTH  JOHN 340 

xxni  GERONIMO,  THE  LAST  APACHE  CHIEF  ON 

THE  WAR-PATH 353 

viii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

For  many  months  there  were  battles — battles — 

battles! Frontispiece 

Osceola 7 

He  drove  his  knife  through  and  through  the  paper  .     .  14 

Billy    Bowlegs 22 

Billy  Bowkgs   and  his   retinue 29 

The  soldiprs  tried  for  a  long  time  to  drive  the  Indians 

from  the  hummock 36 

Pasqual 43 

Pasqual  visits  San  Francisco 49 

Louis,    the    interpreter 60 

' '  Look  on  the  man  you  killed  in  battle  many  suns  ago  ' '  68 

Santos        75 

The  meeting  of  General  Howard  and  Santos  ....  83 

Pedro 91 

One-eyed    Miguel 96 

He  turned  a  back  somersault  into  the  river 101 

Eskeltesela 1Q6 

ix 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

He  did  not  quite   dare   to   shoot   the   representative   of 

President  Grant 123 

To  see  them  charging  tcward  us  Avas  enough  to  make 

our   hearts   beat    fast 141 

Captain  Jack  and  his  companions 151 

The  soldier  and  the  Indian  fired  at  the  same  instant     .   162 

Alaska  totem  poles 169 

The  Indian  village  at  Sitka 176 

A  medicine-man  of  the  Chilcat   Indians 181 

Chief  Joseph  in  full  costume 188 

A    portrait    of    Chief    Joseph    on    birch    bark.      General 

Howard  and  his  good  friend,  Chief  Joseph     .     .     .  195 

He  spread  out  his  arms  as  a  sign  of  peace 213 

The   Princess   Sarah 227 

An  Indian  horse-race 247 

An   Indian  encampment 262 

An  attack  on  a  Avagon-train  by  Eed  Cloud's  Sioux  Avar- 

riors 289 

Eed    Cloud 295 

He  came  out  Avild  Avith  anger 309 

He  told  me  of  his  latest  battle 318 

Homili  took  off  his  tall  hat  and  shook  it  at  us  .     .     .     .  327 

An    Indian    scout 345 

We  came  in  sight  of  the  soldiers  near  Camp  Bowie     .     .  359 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS 
I  HAVE  KNOWN 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS 
I  HAVE  KNOWN 


i 

OSCEOLA 


I  SUSPECT  "Uncle  Sam"  was  born  July 
4th,  1776.  If  so,  he  was  still  a  young  man, 
only  twenty-eight  years  old,  when  Osceola 
came  into  the  world.  The  Eed  Stick  tribe  of 
the  Creek  Indians  had  a  camp  on  the  bank  of 
the  Chattahoochee.  The  water  of  this  river 
is  colored  by  the  roots  of  trees,  shrubs,  and 
vines  which  grow  along  its  sluggish  current, 

1  Of  course  General  Howard  never  saw  Osceola,  for  he  was 
only  a  lad  when  the  Seminole  War  was  fought.  But  he 
heard  many  vivid  accounts,  at  the  time,  of  the  bravery  and 
skill  of  that  fierce  Indian  warrior,  and  so  a  sketch  of  Osceola 
fitly  opens  the  book. — EDITOR. 

3 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

and  so  it  is  very  black.  Osceola 's  mother,  liv 
ing  near  this  dark  river,  named  her  baby  As- 
sa-he-ola,— black  water.  Spanish  tongues  by 
and  by  shortened  it  to  the  beautiful  and  Latin- 
like  name  of  Osceola.  Osceola 's  mother  was 
the  daughter  of  a  Creek  Indian  chieftain.  His 
father  is  said  to  have  been  an  Indian  trader 
born  in  England.  There  were  three  children, 
two  girls  and  the  boy.  Osceola 's  mother,  the 
proud  and  high-tempered  Indian  princess,  be 
came  angry  for  some  reason  and  taking  her 
son  went  into  the  wilderness  of  southern 
Georgia  and  joined  her  own  people,  while  the 
father  took  his  two  daughters  and  passed 
over  to  the  far  West.  The  princess  taught 
Osceola  both  English  and  her  own  language, 
but  she  had  come  to  hate  the  white  people 
and  did  not  fail  to  bring  up  her  son  with  the 
same  unkind  feelings. 

After  a  time  troubles  arose  between  our 
white  settlers  and  the  Creek  Indians  in  Geor- 

4 


OSCEOLA 

gia,  and  Uncle  Sam  sent  General  Jackson 
with  an  army  to  drive  the  Indians  further 
South. 

At  this  time  Osceola  was  only  fourteen 
years  old;  yet  he  was  so  smart  and  so  fierce 
that  he  became  a  leader  of  his  people.  Under 
him  they  fought  hard,  and  were  driven  at  last 
to  the  middle  of  Florida,  where,  not  far  from 
one  of  Uncle  Sam's  stockades,  called  Fort 
King,  the  tribe  joined  the  Seminole  Indians, 
who  lived  there.  These  Florida  Indians,  the 
Seminoles,  were  really  a  part  of  the  Creek 
nation  and  spoke  almost  the  same  language. 
They  soon  became  fond  of  Osceola,  and  as 
their  head  chief,  Micanopy,  was  very  old,  in 
all  fighting  Osceola  became  the  real  leader. 
He  had  two  under-chiefs,  one  named  Jumper 
and  the  other  Alligator.  They  were  as  fierce 
and  hated  the  white  people  as  much  as  he  did, 
and  enjoyed  doing  all  he  told  them  to  do.  As 
Osceola  grew  older  he  had  a  fine,  manly  bear- 

5 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

ing  and  a  deep,  soft,  musical  voice.  He  quickly 
learned  a  new  language,  and  he  was  very 
skilful  in  the  use  of  the  bow,  though  he  liked 
better  the  white  man's  rifle  with  powder  and 
ball.  It  is  said  he  always  hit  what  he  aimed  at. 
For  fifteen  years  Osceola  went  from  tribe 
to  tribe  and  from  chief  to  chief  all  over  Flor 
ida  and  other  states  of  the  South,  wherever 
he  could  find  Indians.  He  always  spoke 
against  the  white  people,  saying  they  were 
two-faced  and  would  not  treat  the  Indians 
with  justice  and  mercy.  I  believe  that  Uncle 
Sam  really  had  a  good  feeling  for  his  red  chil 
dren;  but  the  white  people  were  very  few  in 
Florida,  and  they  were  afraid  of  the  Indians 
and  wanted  to  send  them  away  to  the  West. 
So  they  asked  Uncle  Sam  to  send  his  officers 
and  agents  to  make  a  bargain  with  the  red- 
men.  This  bargain  came  about  and  was  called 
the  "Treaty  of  Payne's  Landing. "  It  was 
signed  at  Payne's  Landing  on  the  Ocklawaha 

6 


Osceola 


OSCEOLA 

Eiver  May  9,  1832,  by  some  of  the  Indian 
chiefs  and  by  Uncle  Sam's  white  officers  and 
agents.  It  was  agreed  that  all  the  Indians 
were  to  go  far  away  beyond  the  Mississippi 
Eiver  before  the  end  of  the  year,  and  that 
Uncle  Sam  should  give  them  $3000  each  year 
and  other  things  which  were  written  in  the 
treaty.  Only  a  few  of  the  Indians  really 
agreed  to  go,  and  Osceola,  now  twenty-eight 
years  old,  was  very  much  against  giving 
away  the  Seminole  country.  He  aroused  the 
whole  nation,,  nine  tenths  of  the  head  men 
were  with  him,  and  he  gathered  good  war 
riors,  divided  them  into  companies  and 
drilled  them.  Osceola  called  an  Indian  as 
sembly,  and  rising  to  his  full  height  (5  feet  8 
inches),  took  a  strong  bow  in  his  right  hand 
and  an  arrow  in  his  left,  and  said,  "I  will 
not  sign  a  treaty  to  give  away  the  Indians' 
land,  and  I  will  kill  the  chiefs  or  any  follow 
ers  who  sign  it. ' ' 

9 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

Two  years  passed,  and  then  some  Seminole 
chieftains,  who  had  gone  beyond  the  Missis 
sippi,  returned.  They  reported  against  the 
removal  of  the  Indians,  and  the  Indian  Agent 
called  a  meeting  of  well-known  Indians  and 
white  men  to  talk  it  over.  The  old  chief, 
Micanopy,  spoke  for  the  Indians,  but  Osceola 
sat  near  and  whispered  into  his  ear  what  to 
answer  the  Indian  Agent.  Micanopy  was  old 
and  wanted  peace.  He,  Jumper,  Alligator, 
and  others  said  they  never  meant  to  sign 
away  their  land,  but  only  agreed  to  send  some 
men  to  look  over  the  new  country  before  they 
decided  what  to  do.  The  meeting  became 
very  excited,  and  at  last  Osceola  sprang  to  his 
feet  and  defied  the  agent,  saying  in  a  taunt 
ing  manner, ' '  Neither  I  nor  my  warriors  care 
if  we  never  receive  another  dollar  from  the 
Great  Father. "  The  agent,  spreading  the 
treaty  upon  the  table,  remonstrated  with 
Osceola,  but  the  fierce  chief  drew  his  long 
10 


OSCEOLA 

knife  from  its  sheath  and  cried:  "The  only 
treaty  I  will  execute  is  with  this,"  and  he 
drove  the  knife  through  and  through  the 
paper  into  the  table. 

Soon  after  this  Osceola  had  an  interview 
with  Captain  Ming  of  the  Coast  Survey  near 
Fort  King,  but  he  declined  every  civility  and 
said,  "I  will  not  break  bread  with  a  white 
man."  A  formal  council  was  arranged,  but 
here  Osceola  in  a  threatening  manner  seized 
a  surveyor 's  chain  and  declared  in  a  loud  voice, 
"If  you  cross  my  land  I  will  break  this  chain 
into  as  many  pieces  as  there  are  links  in  it, 
and  then  throw  the  pieces  so  far  you  can  never 
get  them  together  again. ' '  The  Indian  Agent, 
in  desperation,  sent  for  Osceola  and  ordered 
him  to  sign  the  papers  for  transporting  the 
Indians,  but  he  answered, ' '  I  will  not. ' '  When 
told  that  GeneralJackson,  the  President,  would 
soon  teach  him  better,  Osceola  replied,  "I 
care  no  more  for  Jackson  than  for  you. ' ' 
11 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

The  Indian  Agent  knowing  that  Osceola 
stirred  up  his  people,  had  him  put  in  prison  at 
the  fort,  but  he  escaped  by  making  promises 
to  his  guards.  As  soon  as  he  was  free  again 
he  began  to  get  his  warriors  ready  for  battle. 
He  went  from  place  to  place  very  fast,  hardly 
stopping  for  food,  till  he  had  a  large  number 
of  braves  gathered  near  Fort  King.  Their 
knives  were  kept  sharp,  but  sheathed,  and 
rifles  were  kept  on  hand  with  enough  powder 
and  balls.  Five  Indians  who  went  to  get  food 
were  caught  and  publicly  whipped.  Soon 
after,  an  Indian  was  killed ;  then  three  white 
men  were  wounded  and  a  white  mail-carrier 
killed.  The  chief,  Emaltha,  who  was  friendly 
to  the  treaty,  was  assassinated.  The  war  had 
begun. 

It  was  now  1836  and  Osceola  was  thirty 
years  old.  Hearing  that  Major  Dade,  with 
110  officers  and  men,  was  to  pass  along  the 
military  road  from  Fort  Brooke  at  Tampa 

12 


He  drove  his  knife  through  and  through  the  paper 


OSCEOLA 

Bay,  Osceo'la  sent  Micanopy  and  Jumper  with 
800  of  his  warriors  to  wait  in  ambush  for 
them.  It  was  so  well  arranged  that  the  whole 
command  except  three  men  were  killed. 
These  three  men  escaped  to  Tampa  and  told 
the  terrible  story.  Osceola  had  himself  re 
mained  with  a  small  force  near  Fort  King, 
for  he  wished  to  kill  the  Indian  Agent,  his 
long-time  enemy.  Lieutenant  Smith  and  the 
agent  were  walking  quietly  toward  the  sut 
ler's  shop,  a  half  mile  from  the  stockade, 
when  a  number  of  Indians  set  upon  them  and 
both  were  killed.  The  agent  was  pierced  by 
fourteen  bullets  and  the  lieutenant  with  five. 
The  sutler  and  four  others  were  killed,  and 
the  store  and  out-buildings  burned.  The  fire 
gave  the  first  alarm  at  the  fort.  In  the  mean 
time,  Osceola 's  warriors  under  Micanopy  and 
Jumper  had  been  so  prompt  that  the  first 
battle  was  over  before  their  leader  joined 
them.  Then  the  dreadful  war  went  on. 
15 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

Osceola  met  General  Clinch  with  1000  regular 
soldiers  at  the  crossing  of  the  Withlacoochee 
Eiver.  There  were  not  a  thousand  Indians, 
but  Osceola  brought  them  into  battle  like  an 
experienced  general.  His  men  followed  his 
own  brave  example  and  fought  with  tiger-like 
ferocity.  Osceola  is  said  to  have  slain  forty 
of  our  officers  and  men  with  his  own  hand. 
The  Indians  fought  till  their  ammunition  was 
gone,  and  then  with  bows  and  arrows  and 
knives.  After  this,  Osceola  went  through 
many  battles,  but  he  never  despaired  and 
never  surrendered  till  the  fearful  battle  came 
when  the  Indians  were  defeated  by  General 
Taylor.  Then  the  waters  ran  with  the  blood 
of  Uncle  Sam's  quarreling  children  and 
Osceola 's  men  were  scattered  to  the  four 
winds.  Even  then  Osceola  would  not  have 
been  captured  but  for  an  act  of  treachery. 
He  was  asked  to  come  to  a  conference  at  a 
camp  not  far  from  St.  Augustine.  He  came 

16 


OSCEOLA 

with  some  of  his  warriors,  trusting  to  the 
word  of  the  commander,  but  he  and  his  com 
panions  were  at  once  surrounded  and  carried 
to  St.  Augustine  as  prisoners  of  war.  Our 
officers  said  it  was  right  to  do  this  be* 
cause  Osceola  had  not  kept  his  promises  in 
peace  or  war,  but  we  do  not  like  to  think  that 
the  officers  and  agents  of  Uncle  Sam  broke 
their  word,  even  if  an  Indian  chief  did  not 
keep  his.  Though  Osceola  fought  in  the 
Indian  way,  and  hated  the  treatment  that  the 
white  people  gave  the  Indians,  still,  we  know 
he  did  not  hate  the  white  women  and  children, 
and  constantly  told  his  warriors  to  treat 
women  and  children  with  kindness. 

After  he  was  taken  to  St.  Augustine  he  was 
in  a  sad  condition.  His  spirit  was  broken  by 
defeat  and  imprisonment,  and  he  grew  feeble 
as  he  realized  there  was  no  escape.  When  he 
was  taken  to  Fort  Moultrie  in  Charleston 

Harbor  he  knew  that  he  should  never  see  his 
17 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

own  land  again.  Then  he  refused  food,  would 
see  no  visitors,  and  died,  broken-hearted, 
after  a  short  illness,  aged  thirty-three.  He 
was  a  brave  enemy,  and  respected  as  he  had 
been  by  the  Indian  nation,  his  manly  nature 
was  too  proud  to  be  long  under  the  control  of 
the  white  man. 


18 


II 

BILLY  BOWLEGS  AND  THE  EVERGLADES  OF  FLOEIDA 

"T1TTATEBVLIET  ABSENAL,  near  Troy, 
TT  N.  Y.,  is  one  of  the  places  where 
Uncle  Sam  keeps  his  guns  and  powder,  and 
as  I  was  an  ordnance  officer,  that  is,  an  officer 
whose  duty  it  is  especially  to  look  after  the 
things  to  shoot  with,  I  was  on  duty  at  that 
post  when  word  came  to  me  from  Washington 
that  the  Indian  chief,  Billy  Bowlegs,  had 
broken  out  from  the  Everglades  of  Florida  to 
go  on  the  war-path,  and  that  Uncle  Sam 
wanted  me  to  stop  looking  after  guns  in 
Watervliet,  and  to  look  after  them  in  the 
South.  Little  John  McCarty,  the  son  of  our 
housekeeper,  brought  the  news  in  a  big  en- 
19 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

velop  to  the  stone  house  where  we  lived,  and 
alhtough  it  was  not  long  before  Christmas, 
1856, 1  had  to  leave  the  family,  including  a  lit 
tle  thick-necked,  long-maned,  hard-bitted 
Morgan  pony,  of  which  we  all  were  very  fond, 
for  he  had  taken  us  up  and  down  many  a  long 
hill.  Saying  good-by  to  my  little  boy,  I  told 
his  mother,  his  grandmother,  and  my  brother 
Charles  to  be  sure  and  remind  Santa  Claus 
not  to  forget  him  on  December  25th,  and 
started  for  the  South. 

It  took  eight  days  by  train  to  reach  Savan 
nah,  Georgia,  seven  days  by  boat  to  Pilatka, 
and  two  days  and  nights  in  an  old-fashioned 
stage-coach  through  palmetto  roots  and  over 
sandy  roads  to  Tampa  Bay,  Florida,  where 
Fort  Brooke,  one  of  Uncle  Sam's  Army  posts, 
was  situated  near  the  sea-shore.  Here  I  was 
told  that  I  must  go  farther,  for  General  Har- 
ney  was  down  the  coast  at  Fort  Meyers  and 
he  wanted  to  see  me.  Some  soldiers  rowed 

20 


' -Billy  Bowlees" 


BILLY  BOWLEGS 

me  out  to  a  steamer  which  was  lazily  swing 
ing  back  and  forth  at  anchor  on  the  surface  of 
the  beautiful  bay.  It  was  freezing  cold 
weather  when  I  left  Watervliet,  but  here  the 
air  was  mild  and  pleasant,  like  our  summer  in 
the  North.  By  the  next  morning  the  steamer 
was  lying  off  the  mouth  of  the  broad  Caloosa- 
hatchee  River,  which  empties  into  the  sea. 
The  name  of  this  river  is  half  Indian  and  half 
Spanish.  In  English  it  means  the  Charles 
River,  and  its  current  is  so  strong  that,  al 
though  we  had  eight  trained  oarsmen  to  row 
us,  yet  it  took  nearly  all  day  to  go  the  twenty- 
five  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  to  Fort 
Meyers,  where  General  Harney  was  staying. 
Fort  Meyers,  like  many  of  Uncle  Sam's  forts, 
is  an  army  post  with  no  fortifications  at  all. 
The  barracks  where  the  soldiers  lived,  and 
the  officers'  houses,  were  built  of  logs,  and  so 
strong  that  it  was  thought  they  could  be  de 
fended  against  all  the  Indians  of  Florida. 
2  23 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

Here  I  met  my  general  and  learned  something 
of  the  fierce  Indian  leader  Billy  Bowlegs,  who 
kept  a  large  part  of  Florida  in  a  state  of 
alarm  for  over  a  year. 

You  remember  the  old  chief  of  the  Seminole 
Indians,  Micanopy,  and  how  Osceola  sent  him 
to  waylay  and  fight  Major  Dade  and  our  sol 
diers  in  the  first  real  battle  of  that  Seminole 
War?  Micanopy  had  with  him  at  that  time 
his  young  grandson,  who  was  about  twelve 
years  of  age.  This  boy  rode  a  small  Florida 
pony  on  that  eventful  day,  and  when  the  bat 
tle  began  he  led  his  pony  behind  a  clump  of 
earth  and  grass,  called  a  hummock,  and 
stretching  the  lariat,  a  slender  hair  rope,  on 
the  ground,  the  pony  understood  that  he  was 
meant  to  stand  still.  Then  the  boy  took  his 
bow  and,  stringing  an  arrow  ready  for  use, 
lay  down  in  the  tall,  thick  prairie-grass  near 
Micanopy.  I  suppose  this  boy's  real  name 
was  Micanopito— for  that  means  the  grand- 
24 


BILLY  BOWLEGS 

son  of  Micanopy  in  Spanish— but  he  began 
when  he  was  so  very  young  to  ride  astride  big 
horses,  and  on  top  of  such  large  bundles,  that 
it  made  his  legs  crooked,,  and  his  father,  who 
knew  a  very  little  Spanish,  nicknamed  him 
Piernas  Corvas,  meaning  bowlegs.  When  he 
grew  up,  Natto  Jo,  a  man  who  was  part 
Indian  and  part  negro,  called  him  Guiller- 
mito  a  las  piernas  corvas,  meaning  to  say  lit- 
*tle  William  Bowlegs ;  but  when  Natto  Jo 
came  into  our  camp,  and  spoke  of  him  by  that 
name,  the  soldiers  asked  what  it  meant  and 
turned  it  for  themselves  into  Billy  Bowlegs. 

This  chief  was  thirty-two  years  old  when  he 
first  led  his  warriors  into  battle.  About  350 
Seminoles  refused  to  go  West  when  most  of 
the  Creek  Indians  went  to  live  in  Indian  Ter 
ritory  after  Osceola  died,  and  it  was  these 
who  followed  Billy  Bowlegs.  He  was  a  full- 
blooded  Seminole,  a  perfect  marksman,  and 
his  powers  of  endurance  were  as  remarkable 
25 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

as  Ms  ability  to  appear  and  disappear  in  the 
most  unexpected  manner.  This  was  possible 
because  he  was  so  well  acquainted  with  the 
Everglades,  and  never  went  very  far  from 
that  region.  The  Everglades  is  the  name 
given  to  a  large,  shallow  lake  in  Florida  about 
160  miles  long  by  sixty  miles  wide.  It  con 
tains  many  islands,  some  large  and  some 
small,  but  all  covered  with  trees.  The  whole 
is  very  marshy  and  full  of  the  intertwined 
roots  of  tree-trunks.  Long  streamers  of  moss 
hang  from  the  trees,  and  while  the  Indians  in 
their  light  canoes  could  push  among  the  vines 
and  thickets  so  that  no  trace  or  sign  of  them 
could  be  seen  by  a  white  man,  it  was  impossi 
ble  for  the  soldiers  to  follow  them  on  horse 
back  or  on  foot,  for  the  water  was  up  to  a 
man's  waist.  The  Indians  hid  their  women 
and  children  in  these  Everglades,  and  scouts 
sent  to  hunt  found  no  trace  of  them  during  a 
search  of  weeks  and  even  months. 
26 


BILLY  BOWLEGS 

As  I  listened  to  so  much  about  Billy  Bow- 
legs,  I  became  very  impatient  to  see  him,  and 
it  seemed  to  me  that  the  only  thing  which 
Uncle  Sam  could  hope  to  do  was  to  make 
peace  with  him  and  his  warriors.  The  few 
Indians  I  saw  seemed  shabby  enough  in  their 
tattered  garments,  for  although  each  had 
been  given  a  good  blanket,  they  were  untidy 
savages  and  always  turned  their  eyes  away. 
I  asked  sometimes,  "Is  Billy  Bowlegs  here!" 
But  he  was  always  somewhere  else. 

In  this  last  Indian  war  in  Florida,  Bowlegs 
had  more  warriors  than  horses,  but  in  spite  of 
his  short,  crooked  legs  he  could  go  on  foot 
through  weeds  and  swamps  faster  than  any 
other  Indian.  Once  he  took  about  100  of  his 
men  on  foot  from  the  Everglades  sixty  miles 
to  Lake  Kissimmee  to  attack  one  of  Uncle 
Sam's  stockades,  which  was  in  charge  of 
Captain  Clarke.  This  stockade  was  made  of 
small  logs  planted  close  to  each  other,  deep 
27 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

in  the  ground,  so  as  to  form  a  fence.  Square 
holes,  or  "loopholes/'  were  left  in  this  stock 
ade  so  that  the  soldiers  could  push  their  rifles 
through. 

Once  in  the  early  morning,  while  it  was  still 
dark,  Captain  Clarke  thought  he  heard  a 
noise  outside  of  the  stockade.  He  waked  the 
soldiers  at  once,  but  although  they  looked 
very  carefully,  they  could  not  see  anybody 
outside  and  there  was  no  more  noise,  but  when 
the  sun  came  up  and  it  was  light  they  saw  the 
Indians  all  around.  It  was  Billy  Bowlegs 
and  his  followers.  They  gave  a  great  war- 
whoop  and  rushed  upon  the  stockade  from 
every  direction.  The  soldiers  fired  through 
the  loopholes  in  the  stockade  and  after  a 
while  the  Indians,  taking  those  who  had  been 
wounded  with  them,  went  about  a  mile  away, 
where  they  hid  in  a  large  hummock.  The  sol 
diers  followed  and  tried  for  a  long  time  to 
drive  the  Indians  from  the  hummock,  but  at 
28 


BILLY  BOWLEGS 

last  they  gave  it  up  and  went  back  to  the 
stockade.  When  General  Harney  heard  of 
this  he  sent  a  hundred  mounted  soldiers  to 
help  those  in  the  stockade,  but  by  the  time 
they  arrived  Billy  Bowlegs  and  his  warriors 
had  left  the  hummock  and  were  safe  in  the 
Everglades  once  more. 

About  this  time  General  Harney  left  Flor 
ida  and  Uncle  Sam  sent  Colonel  Loomis  to  try 
and  overcome  Billy  Bowlegs.  The  first  thing 
this  officer  did  was  to  send  many  companies 
of  soldiers  in  different  directions  toward  the 
Everglades.  One  party  came  upon  some  In 
dians  moving  from  hummock  to  hummock. 
There  were  men,  women  and  children,  and 
Billy  Bowlegs  was  leading  them.  The 
mounted  soldiers  rushed  upon  these  Indians 
and  fired,  killing  some  and  capturing  others, 
but  their  leader,  Billy  Bowlegs,  made  his  es 
cape.  When  Colonel  Loomis  heard  that  some 
of  the  children  had  been  wounded,  he  felt  so 
31 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

badly  that  he  made  up  his  mind  to  try  another 
way  to  overcome  Billy  Bowlegs.  He  sent  for 
me  and  told  me  to  go  into  the  Indian  country 
and  try  to  have  a  talk  with  the  chief.  Two 
companies  of  soldiers  went  with  me  and  also 
an  Indian  woman  called  Minnie,  to  guide  us. 
She  took  her  child  along.  Natto  Jo,  the  half- 
breed,  went  too,  to  speak  for  us  to  the  Indians 
in  their  own  language. 

Through  forests  and  over  prairie  lands  we 
went.  One  day,  when  we  came  to  a  beautiful 
open  glade  I  rode  with  Lieutenant  S.  D.  Lee 
some  distance  ahead  of  the  main  body  of  sol 
diers.  As  we  were  riding  I  turned  to  see  the 
soldiers,  but  they  were  out  of  sight.  I  looked 
around  to  speak  to  my  companion  and  to  my 
astonishment  saw  the  whole  company,  men, 
wagons,  and  horses,  marching  along  in  the 
sky  above  the  horizon  to  my  right.  We  hast 
ened  on  expecting  soon  to  come  to  them,  but 
just  as  we  supposed  we  had  reached  them  they 

32 


BILLY  BOWLEGS 

disappeared.  Such  a  wonderful  picture  is 
called  a  mirage,  but  so  real  did  it  seem  that 
we  could  hardly  believe  it  was  only  a  re 
flection  of  the  company,  which  was  still  far 
behind.  All  the  journey  the  Indian  woman 
had  been  so  dirty  that  we  thought  her  most 
unpleasing  and  savage,  but  when  we  stopped 
near  Lake  Okechobee  she  began  to  sing  cheer 
ily.  She  washed  her  face  and  hands,  combed 
her  hair,  and  dressed  herself  and  her  child  in 
respectable  and  clean  clothing,  which  she  had 
carried  in  a  bundle,— adding  many  beads  and 
some  wild  flowers.  We  could  hardly  believe 
her  the  same  person,  but  when  I  spoke  to 
Xatto  Jo  of  this  wonderful  change  he  said  in 
his  usual  funny  English : ' '  He  '11  fool  you  and 
Natto  Jo  manana  (to-morrow)." 

But  we  had  to  trust  her,  so  we  sent  her  with 

messages  to  Billy  Bowlegs  and  she  promised 

to  come  back  soon  with  an  answer.    For  a  few 

days  we  waited  near  the  lake,  but  she  never 

33 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

came  and  at  last  we  went  back  as  we  had 
come.  Yet  I  am  sure  that  her  visit  did  good 
and  that  she  gave  my  messages  to  the  chief, 
for  while  the  Indians  came  out  after  this  from 
the  Everglades  to  seize  supplies,  as  they  could 
raise  no  grain  during  the  war  in  their  hiding- 
places  and  needed  food,  and  while  they  at 
tacked  small  numbers  of  our  soldiers  now  and 
then,  still,  when  Johnny  Jumper,  the  son  of 
Osceola's  old  lieutenant,  finally  came  on  a 
visit  from  the  Indian  Territory  with  some 
other  Indians,  he  learned  from  a  warrior  who 
had  been  wounded  and  captured  at  Lake  Kis- 
simmee,  that  Billy  Bowlegs  would  like  to 
come  and  talk  about  peace,  but  he  did  not  dare 
to  do  so.  He  was  afraid  that  the  white  people 
would  pay  no  attention  to  his  flag  of  truce  and 
might  shoot  him.  Johnny  Jumper  was  a 
friend  to  the  white  man,  and  when  he  heard 
this  he  took  "Polly/7  a  niece  of  Billy  Bow- 
legs,  with  him  and  went  straight  into  the 
34 


BILLY  BOWLEGS 

Everglades  to  see  the  chief.  They  succeeded, 
and  the  result  was  that  Colonel  Loomis  sent 
out  a  proclamation,  saying  that  the  Florida 
war  was  ended,  and  Billy  Bowlegs,  with  165 
other  Indians,  went  with  one  of  Uncle  Sam's 
army  officers  to  "The  Indian  Territory"  to 
live.  Nearly  all  the  Indians  that  were  left 
followed  the  next  year. 

Except  for  the  chief,  Sam  Jones,  who  was 
too  old  to  go,  and  a  few  of  his  followers,  the 
Everglades  was  now  empty;  but  Billy  Bow- 
legs,  firm  and  determined  to  the  last,  left  his 
country  and  passed  beyond  the  Mississippi  to 
join  his  brother  Serninoles  in  other  lands. 
Yet  his  soul,  undaunted,  could  not  brook  this 
change  from  the  wild  and  free  life  of  the 
Everglades,  which  he  had  always  known,  and 
in  less  than  a  year  after  his  arrival  in  the  new 
land  he  died,  honored  and  praised,  as  always, 
by  his  own  people. 


37 


Ill 

PASQUAL 

THE  Yuma  Indians  of  Colorado  live  on 
the  banks  of  the  Colorado  or  Bed  River, 
which  is  very  long  and  flows  between  high 
banks.  In  the  Mohave  country  it  passes 
through  the  Grand  Canyon  of  the  Colorado,  a 
gorge  quite  as  broad  and  as  deep  as  the  famous 
Yosemite  Valley  of  California.  After  leaving 
the  Grand  Canyon,  the  red  waters  of  the  river 
flow  through  the  most  barren  country  of  our 
land.  Sometimes  there  is  not  one  drop  of 
rain  for  as  much  as  three  years,  and  the  vast 
region  is  like  the  Desert  of  Sahara  except 
right  along  the  river  banks. 
38 


PASQUAL 

The  officers  and  soldiers  at  Uncle  Sam's 
army  post,  which  is  called  Fort  Yuma,  have 
made  ditches  from  the  river,  and  by  watering 
the  land  it  has  become  a  real  garden.  They 
raise  vegetables  and  have  planted  rows  of 
trees  which  grow  well,  for  the  soil  is  rich 
when  it  is  watered,  but  dry  as  a  bone  when 
left  alone.  There  are  wonderful  magnolia 
trees  here,  high,  with  broad  branches,  the 
pure  white  blossoms  looking  like  so  many 
doves  among  the  green  leaves.  The  century 
plant  and  palmettos  stand  guard  along  the 
roadways  within  the  stockade,  and  hedges  of 
cacti  form  impassable  barriers.  Prickly 
pears  and  figs  grow  in  abundance,  and  every 
thing  is  green  and  beautiful,  but  only  because 
here  water  has  been  brought  to  land  which 
was  once  called  the  American  desert. 

The  Indians  knew  long  before  Uncle  Sam's 
soldiers  came  that  water  makes  a  wonderful 
difference  in  this  country,  so  they  clung  to 
39 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

the  river,  never  moving  far  away  from  its 
banks,  and  for  this  reason  are  called  Yumas, 
meaning  ' '  Sons  of  the  Kiver. ' ' 

When  the  tribe  was  large  they  cultivated 
the  land  along  its  banks,  pine  woods  sheltered 
them,  and  they  kept  everything  green  while 
the  river  gave  moisture  to  their  land,  so  that 
things  grew,  which  gave  them  food  and  sup 
port. 

Later,  the  tribe  became  small  because  so 
many  had  been  killed  in  battle ;  and  then  they 
were  very,  very  poor.  The  men,  it  is  true, 
needed  little  clothing,  but  what  they  had  was 
in  rags.  They  were  tall,  large,  fine-looking 
men,  but  their  hair  was  rough  and  coarse,  un 
kempt,  and  falling  loosely  over  their  shoul 
ders.  Some  of  the  girls  were  good-looking, 
wearing  fresh  cotton  skirts  and  many  strings 
of  beads,  silver  ornaments  and  thin  shawls 
which  they  drew  over  their  faces  as  the  Mexi 
can  women  do  when  they  are  spoken  to.  They 
40 


PASQUAL 

pride  themselves  upon  their  fine  beaded  moc 
casins  also. 

I  first  saw  these  Indians  when  President 
Grant  sent  me  to  see  what  could  be  done  to 
make  them  more  comfortable.  When  I 
reached  Fort  Yuma  it  was  hard  to  believe 
that  the  country  was  such  a  desert  as  I  had 
been  told  it  was,  for  the  fort  was  really 
an  oasis.  On  my  way  to  the  place  where  I 
was  to  meet  the  Indians  I  passed  through  a 
Yuma  village  and  saw  women  trying  to  cook 
over  small  sage-brush  fires,  using  broken  pots 
and  kettles  for  boiling  some  poor  vegetables. 
Children  were  playing  on  the  high  banks 
which  overhung  the  river.  Some  had  bows 
and  arrows;  some  slings  with  which  they 
were  shooting  pebbles  as  far  as  they  could 
into  the  river  below  them.  Their  hair  fell  down 
like  a  pony's  mane,  floating  over  their  backs 
and  half  covering  their  shoulders.  They  were 
without  clothing,  but  I  heard  their  ringing 
41 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

voices,  and  they  seemed  as  happy  as  other 
children.  When  I  left  the  village  I  went  by 
boat  to  the  camp  of  the  chief.  It  was  like  a 
poor  gipsy  camp,  an  irregular  bivouac  under 
some  scrubby  trees.  A  great  many  Indians, 
both  men  and  women,  had  rowed  over  with  us 
to  join  the  Council,  and  it  was  a  strangely 
mixed  assembly.  They  clapped  their  hands 
and  gave  an  Indian  whoop  as  Captain  Wilkin 
son  and  I  sat  down  upon  three-legged  stools, 
made  of  pieces  of  plank  a  foot  square. 

The  chief,  Pasqual,  was  about  eighty  years 
old.  He  was  very  tall  and  thin,  his  dirty,  tat 
tered  cotton  shirt  was  open  in  front,  exposing 
the  bones  of  his  chest.  He  wore  no  leggins, 
but  some  old  moccasins  on  his  feet  guarded 
them  from  the  thorny  bushes.  His  gray  hair 
was  put  back  from  his  high  forehead  and 
reached  to  his  shoulders.  He  received  us  with 
the  dignity  of  a  king,  holding  himself  as 
straight  as  an  arrow  without  a  bend  in  neck 
42 


L 


PASQUAL 

or  body,  then  sat  upon  a  bench  lower  than 
ours.  The  interpreter,  a  merchant  of  the  vil 
lage,  who  had  acted  as  Indian  agent  for  Pas- 
qual,  knelt  near  me,  and  all  the  Indians  clus 
tered  around,  while  a  dozen  or  more  Mexicans 
and  Americans  took  positions  where  they 
could  see  and  hear. 

Perhaps  because  of  my  own  rank  and  be 
cause  I  was  a  messenger  from  the  President, 
this  old  chief  seemed  somewhat  humbled  as 
he  sat  upon  that  low  rough  bench  and  began 
the  story  of  his  life.  He  began,  as  Indians 
always  do,  with  compliments,  saying  that  it 
was  kind  of  me  to  come  and  see  such  a  poor 
Yuma  chief,  and  that  he  heard  very  good 
things  of  President  Grant,  for  the  Indian 
agent  said  he  was  a  true  friend  to  his  poor 
Indians. 

t  i  But  I  was  not  always  poor, ' '  he  said,  and 
then  went  on  with  his  story.  He  was  born  on 
the  banks  of  the  big,  red  river,  but  far  from 

3  45 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

this  place.  When  he  became  a  young  man  he 
learned  to  shoot  with  a  long,  tough  bow,  and 
had  plenty  of  arrows  in  his  belt.  His  father 
was  killed  on  the  Gila  in  a  battle  with  the 
Tontos,  and  he  was  made  war  chief  and 
1  'head  chief"  of  the  Yumas  in  his  place.  At 
that  time  the  Yumas  held  all  the  land  from 
Colorado  to  the  great  sea  west  and  on  this 
side  north  to  the  great  bend  of  the  Colorado 
Eiver.  East,  they  reached  as  far  as  the 
Tonto-country. 

Then  the  white  people  came  and  fought 
with  the  Mexicans  under  Santa  Anna,  the 
man  with  one  leg,  and  took  California  and  the 
Yuma  country  on  both  sides  of  the  Colorado 
Eiver.  At  this  time  the  Yumas  and  the  Mo- 
haves  were  one  nation.  All  planted  fields  to 
gether  and  had  enough  food,  but  some  sol 
diers  and  "white  teachers"  quarreled  with 
the  Yuma  Indians.  Suddenly  the  Indians 
were  surprised  by  white  soldiers,  who  came 
46 


PASQUAL 

upon  them  under  a  very  fierce  and  terrible 
captain.1 

Pasqual  got  his  warriors  together  and 
fought  very  hard.  They  drove  the  white 
men  back  many  times,  but  the  great  captain 
had  great  guns  and  powder  and  balls,  and 
the  Indians  had  only  spears  and  bows  and 
arrows. 

Twenty-five  years  later  I  met  this  great 
captain  of  whom  Pasqual  spoke.  He  fought 
the  Yuma  nation  and  defeated  them  more 
than  once  in  1848.  He  told  me  that  the  right 
way  to  deal  with  the  savage  Indians  was  to 
fight  them,  fight  them,  fight  them,  till  they 
gave  up.  Then  they  would  always  be  good, 
peaceable  Indians.  He  said  that  the  Yuma 
Indians  were  often  gigantic  in  size  and  could 
beat  the  soldiers  skirmishing.  They  ran  be 
hind  rocks,  logs,  or  knolls,  and  sometimes 
even  came  out  boldly  to  face  the  regulars,  but 

1  Captain  Heintzelman,  later  general  in  the  Civil  War. 

47 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

they  had  only  bows  and  arrows,  knives  and 
spears,  while  we  had  cannon  and  muskets. 
This  may  be  one  way  to  get  the  country,  but 
I  cannot  think  it  the  right  or  the  best  way. 
At  any  rate,  Pasqual's  warriors  were  killed 
and  many  more  wounded  and  carried  away 
prisoners  by  the  great  captain. 

Then  the  young  chief's  heart  was  broken, 
and  he  gave  up  the  fight.  The  captain  talked 
well,  but  after  this  the  Yuma  Indians  grew 
poorer  and  poorer.  Although  they  made 
ditches  and  tried  to  raise  corn  and  vegetables 
and  trade  with  soldiers,  white  men,  and  Mex 
icans,  still  they  remained  poor  and  sick. 

Now,  the  old  chief  had  come  to  implore  help 
for  his  children.  He  begged  me  to  ask  the 
President  to  give  money  for  a  big  ditch  to 
bring  water  to  make  the  poor  land  better,  and 
for  more  good  land  for  the  Yumas.  Then,  if 
they  would  let  the  bad  Mexicans  and  white 
men  alone  and  work  on  their  own  land,  he 
48 


I'iisqual  visits  San  Francisco 


PASQUAL 

hoped  the  tribe  would  rise  up  again  and  be 
strong  and  happy. 

The  old  chief  was  greatly  loved  by  his  peo 
ple.  I  saw  one  little  fellow  about  five  years 
old  run  to  him  and  look  up  in  his  face.  The 
old  Indian  smiled  upon  the  boy  and  ordered  a 
woman  near  the  shore  to  give  him  a  piece  of 
bread.  The  chief  guessed  the  meaning  of  my 
questioning  look  and  told  me  the  little  fel 
low's  name,  "  Juanito." 

FOURTEEN  years  after  this  Council,  Pasqual 
came  to  see  me  in  San  Francisco.  He  was  one 
of  the  oldest  Indians  I  have  ever  seen,  about 
ninety-four  years  of  age,  but,  if  anything, 
brighter  than  when  I  visited  him  in  Arizona. 
With  him  came  a  young  Indian  who  spoke 
English  and  acted  as  his  aide  and  interpreter, 
and  this  Indian  was  the  boy  Juanito.  The 
aged  chief  had  taken  this  long  journey  to  ask 
me  once  more  to  help  his  children,  the  Yuma 
51 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

Indians.  They  did  not  want  to  be  sent  to  live 
with  the  Mohave  tribe,  for  these  Indians,  he 
said,  did  not  like  the  Yumas  and  would  not 
treat  them  well.  After  he  had  spoken  for  his 
people,  who  were  always  nearest  his  heart,  he 
enjoyed  looking  at  the  new  surroundings.  Al 
though  he  was  nearly  one  hundred  years  old 
he  had  never  seen  a  large  city  before.  How 
happy  and  childlike  he  was  about  it  all !  To 
walk  in  the  streets,  leaning  on  the  strong  arm 
of  Juanito,  who  was  as  curious  and  observing 
as  he ;  to  watch  the  crowds  of  people  and  the 
many  new  and  strange  things ;  but  above  all 
to  ride  up  and  down  the  hills  on  the  cable- 
cars. 

He  stood  straight  and  tall  before  me  as  he 
said  good-by  and  started  back  by  a  coast 
steamer.  Then  he  went  up  the  Colorado  in  a 
smaller  boat,  finally  landing  in  safety  on  the 
east  bank  of  his  beloved  Bed  Eiver. 

Without  Christian  teaching,  without  read- 
52 


PASQUAL 

ing  a  book,  only  once  visiting  a  large  town, 
this  dignified  hero  studied  the  wants  of  his 
people,  fought  their  battles,  behaved  nobly 
under  defeat,  and  was  too  noble  ever  to  be 
completely  crushed,  though  he  lived  for  many 
years  in  neglect  and  extreme  poverty.  May 
this  great  son  of  the  river,  Pasqual,  find  his 
reward  in  the  better  land. 


53 


IV 


ANTONIO    AND    ANTONITO 

THE  Pima  Indians,  who  live  on  the  banks 
of  the  Gila  Eiver  (pronounced  in  Span 
ish  Heela),  are  the  most  civilized  of  any 
North-American  Indians.  They  live  in 
houses,  manufacture  useful  articles,  and  are 
known  for  simplicity  of  character,  peaceful- 
ness,  and  honesty.  But  they  have  had  their 
wars.  A  battle  took  place  near  the  "broad 
trail, "  which  is  now  sometimes  called  the 
Temple  Eoad.  Ursuth  was  the  chief  then, 
and  he  led  his  people  against  a  band  of 
54 


ANTONIO  AND  ANTONITO 

Apache  Indians.  The  Pimas  were  far  out 
numbered  by  Apache  warriors,  and  yet  many 
were  killed  on  both  sides,  but,  although  Ur- 
suth  received  three  wounds,  he  was  able  to 
keep  the  Apaches  back  till  the  Pima  women 
and  children  had  escaped  and  reached  a  place 
of  safety. 

The  Apaches  always  began  the  wars,  but 
the  Pimas  were  never  slow  to  follow  and  fight 
them;  they  gained  the  advantage  sometimes 
by  making  night  attacks.  They  would  come 
upon  the  Apaches  with  clubs  and  knives,  and 
kill  them  in  their  sleep.  Then,  like  all  Indi 
ans,  the  Pimas  would  carry  off  as  many  cap 
tives  as  they  could  secure.  These  they  sold  in 
Mexico  for  sixty  to  one  hundred  dollars 
apiece,  being  paid  in  clothes  or  live  stock. 
After  a  battle  they  would  have  wonderful 
dances  to  celebrate  a  victory. 

When  Ursuth  grew  too  old  to  lead  the  war 
riors,  Antonio  took  his  place  and  became  the 
55 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

war  chief.  Soon  afterward  there  came  a  year 
when  there  was  no  food  in  all  the  Gila  Valley, 
so  the  Pimas  took  their  wives  with  them  to 
the  San  Pedro  Eiver.  Here  they  made  a 
camp  for  the  women,  and  the  men  mounted 
the  few  Indian  ponies  and  rode  off  in  search 
of  food.  When  they  returned  the  camp  and 
all  the  women  were  gone,  for  the  wild 
Apaches  had  stolen  in  and  taken  everything. 
This  was  a  fearful  return,  but  Antonio  lost 
no  time ;  he  and  his  warriors  did  not  rest  till 
they  had  overtaken  the  robbers  in  the  Sierra 
Mountains.  Here  they  had  a  terrible  battle, 
but  the  Pimas  won,  and  rescued  the  women 
who  had  been  taken  captive. 

Later  Uncle  Sam  had  a  fort  near  where 
the  Pima  Indians  lived,  and  he  sent  General 
Alexander,  one  of  his  officers,  to  take  care 
of  it. 

After  a  while,  in  the  year  1868,  this  officer 
was  obliged  to  make  war  upon  some  Apaches, 
56 


ANTONIO  AND  ANTONITO 

for  they  were  stealing-  cattle  and  horses  from 
the  Pimas  and  white  people.  A  hundred 
Pima  Indians  went  with  General  Alexander 
and  helped  him  make  many  charges  over 
hills,  rocks,  and  streams.  Their  wild  ways 
and  brilliant  dresses  delighted  him  during  his 
great  march  into  the  mountains. 

The  Pimas  are  proud  of  the  fact  that  they 
have  never  killed  a  white  man.  They  hate  the 
Apaches  and  make  war  against  them,  but 
have  always  been  the  white  man's  friend. 

General  Alexander  and  his  wife  were  great 
friends  of  these  Indians,  but  were  sorry  to 
see  that  they  believed  in  many  foolish  things ; 
Antonio  as  well  as  all  the  rest.  They  tried  to 
cure  sick  people  by  rapping  on  rude  drums  or 
shaking  rattles  day  and  night  beside  them. 
Some  of  the  chief  men  of  the  tribe  taught  the 
warriors  to  get  drunk  at  their  feasts,  and  to 
play  games  which  made  it  possible  for  a  few 
Indians  to  gain  all  the  property  of  the  tribe. 
57 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

They  did  all  sorts  of  silly  things,  too,  in  time 
of  famine,  to  bring  food.  The  General  often 
talked  to  Antonio  and  told  him  that  there 
were  good  white  people  who  lived  far  away 
in  the  East  and  that  some  day  they  would 
send  a  good  man  to  live  among  the  Pimas. 
He  would  not  want  their  land  or  their  money, 
but  would  come  because  he  loved  the  Indians 
and  wanted  to  do  them  good.  What  he  told 
them  would  be  the  truth,  and  Antonio  could 
trust  him  when  he  came.  The  chief  listened. 
He  believed  and  waited  for  the  great  teacher 
to  come. 

Three  years  went  by,  then  a  German  named 
Koch  went  to  live  in  Arizona.  He  was  a 
Christian  missionary  and  he  wanted  to  help 
the  Indians.  The  Indian  agent  built  a  small 
school-house  for  him,  and  here  he  began  to 
teach  the  Indian  children.  Louis,  one  of  the 
boys,  could  speak  Spanish,  and  with  his  help 
the  children  taught  the  Pima  language  to 
58 


Louis,  tilt;  interpreter 


ANTONIO  AND  ANTONITO 

their  teacher.  The  German  word  Koch  is  the 
same  as  Cook  in  English,  and  Mr.  Cook,  as  he 
was  called,  worked  hard  till  he  could  speak 
Pima,  while  the  Indian  boys  and  girls  learned 
to  speak  English,  though  so  carefully  did 
they  follow  their  teacher  that  these  children, 
born  and  brought  up  in  America,  spoke  Eng 
lish  with  the  same  German  accent  that  Mr. 
Cook  had,  though  he  was  born  far  away  in 
Germany. 

After  this  good  man  had  learned  to  speak 
the  Indian  language  he  talked  to  the  older  In 
dians.  The  chief  had  been  waiting  for  the 
coming  of  just  such  a  teacher  and  he  listened 
to  what  he  taught,  and  profited  by  it. 

In  1872  some  bad  white  men  went  to  live 
on  the  banks  of  the  Gila  Eiver,  above  where 
the  Indians  had  their  homes.  They  dug  deep 
ditches  and  drew  away  a  large  part  of  the 
river.  Of  course,  their  fields  and  gardens 
were  well  watered  in  this  way,  but  they  cut 
61 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

off  a  great  deal  of  water  from  the  Indians, 
who  depended  upon  water  from  the  river  to 
make  things  grow  in  that  dry  country,  where 
hardly  any  rain  falls.  More  than  half  the 
crops  of  grain  and  vegetables  were  lost  in 
consequence,  and  the  fruit-trees  were  nearly 
dead  and  could  not  bear  fruit.  Before  these 
white  men  came  the  farms  had  been  watered 
by  ditches  from  the  river  which  took  water 
far  up  on  to  the  land  and  then  branched,  so 
that  water  ran  over  each  Indian 's  land  and 
made  the  soil  very  rich.  Some  of  the  Indians 
were  very  angry  and  loudly  complained,  but 
these  selfish  white  men  only  said:  "The 
Pimas  can  not  have  the  whole  Gila ;  if  we  are 
above  them  that  's  their  bad  luck. ' '  Some  of 
the  young  Indians  wanted  to  fight,  and  I  was 
sent  to  see  what  I  could  do  to  arrange  mat 
ters. 

When  I  first  saw  him,  the  chief,  Antonio, 
was  a  lame  old  man,  of  medium  height,  with 
62 


ANTONIO  AND  ANTONITO 

a  bright,  intelligent  face;  his  black  hair,  a 
little  mixed  with  gray,  hung  in  two  short 
braids  down  his  back.  His  forehead  was 
clear  and  high,  and  his  dark  eyes,  always  gaz 
ing  straight  at  you,  were  steady  and  search 
ing.  With  him  was  his  son,  Antonito,  about 
twenty-five  years  old.  He  was  stouter  than 
his  father,  and  kept  his  eyes  always  on  the 
ground  until  we  were  better  acquainted,  when 
he  would  look  into  my  face. 

We  met  in  the  office  of  the  Indian  agent, 
Mr.  Stout;  and  Mr.  Cook  was  there  with 
Louis  to  help  as  interpreter.  Mr.  Cook  told 
Antonio  who  I  was.  He  said  he  would  like  to 
show  me  his  house,  so  we  walked  three  or 
four  hundred  steps  to  Antonio's  house.  It 
was  like  a  big  beehive  outside,  of  rounded 
form  and  twenty  or  thirty  feet  across.  The 
roof  seemed  to  be  made  of  hard  clay  such  as 
is  called  by  the  Spanish  word  adobe.  One 
side  was  square,  and  a  door  about  four  feet 
63 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

high  and  three  feet  across  opened  into  it.  As 
we  entered  after  Antonio  we  stepped  down 
two  feet  to  the  floor  of  hard  sand  and  clay. 
On  one  side  blankets  were  rolled  up  and 
placed  against  the  wall.  Saddles,  guns,  and 
belts  hung  opposite,  and  between  were 
benches  and  some  two  or  three  Indian  dogs. 
The  Pimas  have  always  lived  in  villages  and 
built  this  kind  of  house,  not  as  do  other  In 
dians,  who  live  in  tents.  We  talked  a  while 
but  did  not  stay,  for  without  any  window  or 
chimney  the  smell  and  smoke  were  too  much 
for  a  white  man  to  stand  very  long.  On  our 
way  back  to  the  office  we  often  stopped  to  look 
about  us  and  I  saw  that  the  Gila  was  a  very 
strange  river.  It  flows  rapidly  along  on  its 
way  to  the  Colorado  for  some  distance,  then 
the  water  suddenly  disappears  and  only  a 
river  bed  filled  with  sand  is  seen,  the  surface 
of  which  is  usually  dry  and  white.  A  little 
farther  on  the  water  appears  again.  I 
64 


ANTONIO  AND  ANTONITO 

thought  at  first  there  must  be  a  channel  be 
neath  the  sand  and  that  the  water  followed 
on  underneath,  but  our  engineer  told  me  that 
the  sand,  like  a  sponge,  takes  up  the  water 
of  the  Gila  for  a  short  distance  in  several 
places  before  it  reaches  the  Colorado  Eiver. 

After  our  first  talk  Antonio  opened  his 
heart  to  me.  He  to]d  me  that  wicked  men 
had  led  his  young  people  away  and  taught 
them  bad  ways.  He  said  his  people  had  been 
on  the  war-path  in  the  past,  but  that  they 
loved  best  to  cultivate  the  land,  raise  fruits, 
and  be  at  peace.  ' ' Some  of  our  young  men," 
he  said,  "now  want  to  fight  these  bad  white 
men  who  steal  our  water.  Louis  and  Anto- 
nito  think  that  way,,  but  Mr.  Cook  says  'no.' 
He  is  our  teacher.  The  children  have  been 
to  school  to  him  and  as  soon  as  he  knew  our 
language  he  told  them  everything,  about  the 
President,  the  United  States  Government, 
and  many  other  things.  They  have  told  me. ' ' 
65 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

Some  time  after  this,  a  hundred  miles  west 
of  Antonio's  village,  I  gathered  part  of  five 
tribes  of  Apaches,  two  tribes  of  the  Pueblos 
(those  Indians  who  live  in  houses),  many 
Mexicans,  white  citizens,  and  some  American 
soldiers.  This  was  to  be  a  great  peace  meet 
ing,  and  I  wanted  Antonio,  who  was  my 
friend,  to  come  and  tell  the  other  Indians 
about  me.  But  he  was  too  old  and  lame,  so 
Mr.  Cook  and  Louis  came,  and  Antonio,  the 
chief  of  the  Pimas,  sent  his  son,  Antonito,  to 
the  council  in  his  place.  He  said  his  son 
would  soon  have  to  speak  everywhere  for  the 
tribe  and  i '  might  as  well  begin  now. ' ' 

At  the  end  of  the  council  the  old  enemies, 
Apaches  and  Pimas,  embraced  each  other, 
while  tears  of  joy  ran  down  their  cheeks.  One 
strong  active  warrior  said  to  Louis:  "Look 
on  the  man  you  killed  in  battle  many  suns 
ago."  It  was  indeed  an  Indian  Louis  had 
left  for  dead  on  the  battle-field,  and  seeing 

66 


"'Look  on  thoinan  von  killed  in  but  tic  manv  suns  ago  " 


ANTONIO  AND  ANTONITO 

him  he  was  greatly  frightened,  for  he  was 
very  superstitious.  But  when  he  realized 
that  this  man  was  quite  alive  they  embraced 
each  other  in  promise  of  future  good  fellow 
ship. 

Later  Antonito  went  with  me  to  New  York 
and  Washington  with  a  party  of  ten  Arizona 
Indians,  and  the  new  and  startling  experi 
ences  did  much  to  bind  them  forever  to  the 
interest  of  this  great  peace. 

I  made  a  second  trip  to  Arizona  later  and 
on  my  way  north  visited  the  old  Chief  An 
tonio.  Mr.  Cook  and  Louis  with  Antonito  had 
returned  safely  from  the  East,  and  Antonio 
never  tired  of  hearing  about  the  marvels  they 
had  seen  and  heard. 

When  I  left  with  Antonio's  consent  and 
Antonito 's  encouragement,  I  took  two  Indian 
lads  with  me,  intending  to  place  them  in 
school.  At  first  they  were  pleased  with  the 
idea  of  going  where  Antonito  had  been,  and 
69 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

of  seeing  the  wonderful  things  he  talked 
about,  but  when  we  reached  a  stage  station 
beyond  Marecopa  Wells  the  boys  were  so 
frightened  and  homesick  that  they  cried 
aloud.  The  interpreter  could  not  quiet  them, 
but  a  rough  woman  in  the  station,  who  had 
said  she  hated  Indians  and  believed  they 
should  all  be  killed,  was  so  very  sorry  for  the 
boys  that  she  began  to  cry  too  and  begged  me 
not  to  take  the  children  away.  I  sent  the  lads 
back  to  Antonio  by  the  interpreter,  but  a  few 
years  later  Antonito  brought  these  same  boys 
with  some  others,  including  his  own  son,  to 
the  school  at  Hampton,  Virginia,  and  stayed 
with  them  there  for  about  a  year,  learning  all 
that  he  could.  He  was  very  lonely  so  far 
away  from  his  own  people,  and  was  delighted 
when  he  found  out  that  my  son,  whom  he  had 
seen  in  Arizona,  was  on  duty  at  Uncle  Sam's 
great  fortification  called  Fortress  Monroe, 
which  was  less  than  ten  miles  from  Hampton. 
70 


ANTONIO  AND  ANTONITO 

Often  Antonito  would  walk  all  the  way  over 
and  sit  near  Lieutenant  Howard's  quarters, 
waiting  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  him.  He  did 
not  always  speak,  but  took  a  good  look  and 
went  away  with  a  contented  and  satisfied  ex 
pression  on  his  face,  just  because  he  had  seen 
this  old  friend. 

Ursuth,,  very  old,  was  still  living  when  I 
first  visited  the  Pimas.  Antonio  never 
learned  to  speak  English,  but  learned  some 
thing  new  every  day,  for  Mr.  Cook  taught 
the  children  and  they  told  him.  Antonito  saw 
much  more  of  the  world  than  the  chiefs  who 
went  before  him,  but  like  them  he  loved  those 
who  were  his  friends,  and  the  friends  of  his 
people,  and  was  always  true  to  them. 


71 


SANTOS,  AND  ESKIMINZEEN  THE  STAMMERER 

FAE  away  near  the  Aravipa  Eiver  in 
Arizona,  one  of  "  Uncle  SamV  young 
officers  rode  at  the  head  of  a  company  of  sol 
diers.  They  had  marched  eighteen  miles  al 
ready  in  a  deep  ravine,  the  bottom  of  which 
was  filled  with  coarse  sand.  In  the  rainy  sea 
son  this  ravine  was  filled  with  water,  but  now 
it  was  what  the  Mexicans  call  a  ' '  dry  arroyo, ' ' 
for  there  had  been  no  rain  for  many  weeks. 
Just  at  the  mouth  of  this  arroyo  was  the  Ara 
vipa  Eiver,  coursing  serpent-like  across  their 
path.  It  was  not  very  broad  nor  very  deep, 
but  they  were  glad  to  see  even  a  little  water. 

72 


SANTOS  AND  ESKIMINZEEN 

The  march  had  been  a  hard  one.  Every  step 
in  the  sand  was  like  walking  in  loose  snow, 
and  the  mules  which  drew  the  baggage 
wagons  were  tired  and  did  not  want  to  go. 
At  sight  of  the  Aravipa  Eiver  flowing  along 
between  bright  green  cottonwood  trees,  the 
mules  began  to  bray  loudly  and  to  pull  hard 
to  get  their  noses  into  the  stream.  The  sol 
diers  broke  ranks  and  ran  up  the  river,  each 
to  get  a  good  drink  of  clear  water  and  fill  his 
canteen.  A  short  way  beyond  was  a  beauti 
ful  grassy  meadow,  and  hera  the  little  com 
pany  pitched  their  tents,  naming  their  camp 
for  the  great  leader  who  had  become  our 
President— Camp  Grant. 

Now,  six  miles  away  from  the  cottonwood 
trees  where  the  soldiers  crossed  the  Aravipa 
Eiver  there  was  a  deep  cut  or  canyon.  It  was 
steep  and  high  and  rocky  on  one  side,  but  so 
sloping  on  the  other  as  to  make  a  nice,  safe 
sleeping-place  for  a  tribe  of  Indians.  Here 
73 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

were  beautiful  springs  of  fresh  water ;  the  air 
was  warm  and  the  Indians  made  warm 
houses  for  themselves.  First,  they  dug  hollow 
places  in  the  ground,  lined  with  soft  leaves  or 
deer  skins,  and  then  protected  these  hollows 
from  the  sun  by  bushes  or  leafy  branches  laid 
across  scrub  trees,  which  grew  to  a  consider 
able  size  on  the  cross  ridges  running  to  the 
bottom  of  the  canyon. 

This  tribe  of  Indians  is  called  "Aravipa 
Apaches,"  and  if  the  young  officer  had  be 
lieved  the  reports  he  had  read  in  the  news 
papers  or  heard  from  rough  Mexicans  he 
would  have  supposed  them  thieves  and  rob 
bers.  But  he  had  not  believed  these  stories, 
for  he  was  a  strong  friend  to  the  Indians,  and 
when  he  was  sent  to  protect  the  Indian  Agent, 
who  was  afraid  to  live  alone  among  them,  so 
far  from  any  soldiers,  he  made  up  his  mind 
to  find  out  what  was  the  real  truth.  As  soon 

as    the    camp    was    in    order,    he    took    a 
74 


Santos 


SANTOS  AND  ESKIMINZBEN 

guard  of  six  men  with  him  and  went  to  an 
old  frame  building  a  quarter  of  a  mile  down 
the  river.  This  was  the  Indian  Agency.  Of 
course,  the  Agent  could  not  speak  Apache,  so 
he  had  a  queer-looking  little  man,  half  Mexi 
can,  half  Indian,  to  act  as  interpreter.  This 
queer  little  man  looked  like  a  dark-skinned 
boy  of  twelve  or  thirteen,  but  had  the  husky 
voice  of  an  old  man,  and  was  probably  about 
twenty-five  years  old.  He  was  called  Concep- 
clon. 

When  the  young  officer  reached  the  Agency, 
instead  of  fearing  to  meet  the  Indians  as  the 
Agent  had  done,  he  told  Conception  to  go 
into  the  canyon  and  ask  the  present  chief  of 
the  Indians  to  come  to  the  Agency  for  a  talk. 
Concepgion  said  the  old  chief  was  Santos,  but 
Eskiminzeen,  his  son-in-law,  was  the  real 
chief.  He  would  bring  them  both.  True  to 
his  word,  Concepgion  returned  with  the  two 
chiefs  within  two  hours.  Santos  was  a  thick- 
77 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

set,  short-necked  man,  not  very  tall,  but  with 
a  finely  shaped  head.  His  straight  black  hair 
was  parted  in  the  middle  and  cropped  all 
around,  so  that  the  ends  just  touched  his 
shoulders.  He  wore  a  common  waistcoat 
over  a  poor  shirt,  open  at  the  throat.  A  strip 
of  cotton  was  around  his  waist,  like  a  short 
skirt,  and  he  had  low  beaded  moccasins  on  his 
feet.  Two  strings  of  bright  beads  hung 
around  his  neck.  The  young  officer  took  quite 
a  fancy  to  him  at  once,  in  spite  of  this  queer 
costume,  for  his  eyes  were  mild  and  dark  and 
looked  friendly. 

Eskiminzeen,  Santos's  son-in-law,  had  his 
hair  in  two  long  braids  and  was  fully  dressed 
in  skins.  He  wore  rings  in  his  ears  and  a 
string  of  silver  coins  and  little  shells  around 
his  neck.  In  his  hand  was  a  small  shawl, 
which  he  sometimes  wrapped  like  a  turban 
round  his  head. 

At  first,  the  young  officer  tried  to  talk 
78 


SANTOS  AND  ESKIMINZEEN 

through  Conception  to  Eskiminzeen,  but  the 
chief  was  a  stammerer  and  stuttered  so  badly 
that  it  was  very  hard  to  understand  him,  and 
at  last  Conception  gave  it  up. 

"Sir  Lieutenant, "  he  said,  "Eskiminzeen 
no  talk  good,  me  no  savey!"  (I  don't  under 
stand.) 

*  *  Try  Santos, ' '  said  the  young  officer. 

The  chief  raised  his  eyes  and  gazed  stead 
ily  at  the  lieutenant,  while  he  answered  ques 
tions  which  were  given  through  the  inter 
preter. 

He  said  that  for  a  long  time  lie  was  head 
chief  of  the  Indians  who  now  lived  in  Ara- 
vipa  Canyon.  They  planted  lands  then,  loved 
peace,  and  did  not  go  on  the  war-path.  When 
Tontos  or  Sierra  warriors  came,  they  fought 
them  and  drove  them  off,  but  they  loved 
peace  and  when  the  enemy  was  beaten 
planted  corn  and  other  things  once  more. 
Then  they  hunted  for  deer  and  other  game, 
79 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

stripped  and  dried  the  meat  for  food;  gath 
ered  corn  and  did  not  go  on  the  war-path. 
When  Santos  grew  old  he  made  this  young 
Indian,  Eskiminzeen,  chief.  It  was  he  who 
brought  Santos  and  the  Aravipa  Indians  to 
this  valley  and  to  the  canyon.  Santos  said  it 
was  a  good  place,  a  good  house,  and  all  the 
tribe  had  come.  They  had  done  no  harm. 
Eskiminzeen  never  began  a  war,  nor  did  he 
steal  horses  or  cattle,  or  rob  and  kill  white 
people.  They  intended  to  live  quietly  and 
happily,  but  one  night  the  men  had  a  big 
dance.  They  were  so  tired  that  they  went  to 
sleep  where  they  had  danced.  The  women 
and  children  went  to  sleep  a  short  distance 
away  from  the  men.  While  they  were  all 
asleep,  before  the  sun  was  up,  a  big  company 
of  white  men  and  Mexicans  came  up  and  fired 
their  guns  right  at  the  women  and  children. 
Some  were  killed.  Little  boys  and  girls  were 
hurt  very  badly,  and  a  few  of  those  that  were 
80 


SANTOS  AND  ESKIMINZEEN 

hurt,  with  many  more  who  were  well,  no  mat 
ter  how  loud  they  cried,  were  seized  by  the 
white  warriors  and  carried  far  away. 

Eskiminzeen  and  the  Indians  did  not  fight ; 
they  knew  it  was  no  use,  so  they  ran  into  the 
Aravipa  Canyon,  where  the  deep  gulf  and 
high  rocks  protected  them,  and  the  white  men 
did  not  follow. 

After  the  young  officer  had  listened  to  San 
tos  he  began  to  see  what  bad  stories  had  been 
told  about  these  Indians,  so  he  had  all  which 
Santos  said  written  down  and  sent  it  to 
Washington.  President  G-rant,  you  know, 
was  always  a  great  friend  of  the  Indians,  and 
when  he  read  what  Santos  had  said  he  sent 
me  to  Camp  Grant  to  try  to  bring  about  a 
good  peace  between  these  Indians  and  the 
white  people. 

When  I  arrived  so  many  more  soldiers  and 
officers  had  been  sent  to  Camp  Grant  that 

houses  had  been  built  and  it  was  quite  a  big 
81 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

army  post.  I  first  went  to  visit  Chief  Eski- 
minzeen  and  Santos  with  Concepgion.  It  was 
hard  riding,  and  ConcepQion  went  ahead  of 
me,  shouting:  "All  right,  all  right,  bueno 
Generale ! ' ' 

Under  the  shady  cottonwood  trees,  where 
the  arroyo  and  the  river  cross  each  other,  I 
met  white  men  and  Mexicans  (who  brought 
many  of  the  children  taken  away  in  the  one 
sided  battle)  and  many  Indians.  Santos  be 
came  my  devoted  friend  and  helper.  I  told 
him  that  we  had  the  same  Great  Father,  so 
we  must  be  brothers,  and  he  took  my  hand 
and  gave  me  his  heart. 

The  great  question  was  what  to  do  with  the 
captive  children.  The  white  people  and  Mex 
icans  said  it  was  much  better  for  the  children 
to  stay  with  them  in  their  Christian  homes,  but 
the  Indians  said : ' '  They  are  our  children  and 
we  love  them  and  want  them  with  us. "  After 
many  councils,  I  told  them  that  the  question 
82 


The  meeting  of  General  Howard  and  Santos 


SANTOS  AND  ESKIMINZEEN 

must  be  settled  by  President  Grant  in  Wash 
ington,  and  that  in  the  meantime  the  children 
should  stay  at  Camp  Grant.  Here  the  Indi 
ans  could  come  and  see  them,  and  if  the  white 
people  wanted  to  they  might  also  visit  and 
talk  to  them.  This  pleased  everybody  and  all 
were  satisfied.  Santos  took  a  small,  hard 
stone  and  laid  it  before  him  on  the  level 
ground,  saying:  "As  long  as  this  stone  shall 
last,  there  will  be  a  good  peace  and  no  one 
will  go  on  the  war-path  any  more. ' '  Then  the 
Indians,  Mexicans,  and  white  people  em 
braced  each  other  and  there  was  great  joy. 

Santos  always  carried  with  him  a  small 
book  which  I  had  given  him.  Of  course,  he 
could  not  read  a  word  of  it,  but  he  never  lay 
down  to  sleep  without  putting  it  under  his 
head. 

He  was  the  first  Indian  who  agreed  to  go 
with  me  to  Washington.  At  Santa  Fe  he  was 
dressed  like  a  white  man,  and  from  there  we 
85 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

traveled  many  miles.  Santos  was  deeply  in 
terested  in  everything  he  saw.  The  White 
House  and  the  President  made  his  heart  beat 
faster.  He  was  more  silent  than  General 
Grant  himself,  but  with  beaming  face  he 
gazed  upon  the  great  leader  as  long  as  he 
could,  and  carried  back  to  Eskiminzeen  and 
his  Indians  an  impression  which  he  only 
could  tell  them  about. 

We  traveled  back  by  train  to  Pueblo,  in 
Colorado.  Then  by  an  old-fashioned  four- 
horse  stage-coach  to  Santa  Fe,  and  by  horse 
back  to  Camp  Apache.  Here  I  left  him,  and 
my  son,  Guy  Howard,  then  but  sixteen  years 
old,  took  a  guard  of  soldiers  and  escorted  him 
over  the  rough  mountain  trail  to  Camp  Grant. 

As  Santos  and  Conception  slowly  rode 
through  the  Aravipa  Canyon  they  were  met 
with  a  shrill  cry  of  joy.  The  cry  echoed  and 
reechoed  from  hilltop  to  hilltop  for  miles  and 
miles,  and  must  have  reminded  many  of  the 
86 


SANTOS  AND  ESKIMINZEEN 

time  before  when,  hardly  knowing  what  to 
expect,  I  entered  the  canyon  and  Conception, 
going  before,  cheered  my  heart  with  his  high, 
shrill  shout  of  "All  right,  all  right,  bueno 
Generale ! ' ' 


87 


VI 


PEDEO  THE  IMITATOR,  CLEAR-EYED  ESKELTESELA 

AND  ONE-EYED  MIGUEL— A  VISIT  OF  WHITE 

MOUNTAIN  CHIEFS  TO  WASHINGTON 

YOU  remember  the  great  peace  meeting 
near  Camp  Grant,  where  the  Indian 
children  were  given  back,  and  how  old  Santos 
put  the  white  stone  down  and  said  that  as 
long  as  it  lasted  there  would  be  no  war. 
After  this  the  Indians  were  very  friendly  to 
the  white  man,  and  so  it  seemed  a  good  time 
for  some  of  the  Indian  chiefs  to  go  East  and 
visit  the  great  Chief  in  Washington. 

Just  about  one  month  after  the  great  peace 
meeting  the  young  Pima  chief,  Antonito,  his 
friend  Louis,  who  spoke  some  English,  and 
88 


PEDRO,  ESKELTESELA  AND  MIGUEL 

Mr.  Cook,  the  good  Indian  teacher,  joined  old 
Santos  of  the  Aravipa  Apaches,  who  came 
with  his  interpreter,  Conception,  to  meet 
them  near  the  crossing  of  the  Aravipa  Eiver. 
Then  they  all  rode  on  horseback  to  a  field  just 
south  of  Camp  Grant,  and  here  I  met  them. 
Captain  Wilkinson,  my  aide,  was  with  me, 
and  we  had  a  mounted  escort  of  a  sergeant 
and  six  soldiers.  We  were  to  go  one  hundred 
miles  over  a  very  rough,  steep  mountain  trail 
to  Camp  Apache  near  the  eastern  border  of 
Arizona,  but  we  could  take  no  wagons,  so  all 
our  luggage  was  on  four  strong  pack-mules. 
When  we  started  I  rode  a  large  gray  horse 
named  Frank.  He  looked  very  fine  indeed, 
but  one  of  the  officers  at  Camp  Grant  told  me 
to  be  careful  and  not  trust  too  much  to  ap 
pearances,  for  Frank  was  not  used  to  long 
journeys  as  the  mules  were,  and  he  was  likely 
to  grow  lame  on  the  stony  road,  or  fag  out. 
I  patted  the  beautiful  creature  and  we  started 
89 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

off,  but  I  had  hardly  ridden  twenty  miles  be 
fore  Frank,  beautiful  as  he  was,  gave  out  en 
tirely.  He  was  too  weak  for  me  to  ride  him 
any  further,  so  I  left  him  with  a  soldier  to  be 
slowly  led  to  the  nearest  army  station,  and 
was  glad  indeed  to  take  the  soldier 's  mule  for 
the  rest  of  the  journey. 

We  camped  two  nights  beside  good  water, 
and  found  plenty  of  wood  near  by,  and  on  the 
third  morning  our  queer-looking  cavalcade 
rode  out  of  the  surrounding  forest  into  a 
beautiful  mountain  glade.  A  small  river  tum 
bled  over  the  rocks  and  then  cut  its  way 
through  a  deep  and  peaceful  channel.  The 
dark  green  of  spruce-  and  pine-trees  was 
around  us,  making  a  delightful  spot  in  the 
great  wilderness,  which,  toward  the  north 
and  east,  seemed  endless.  Among  these  sur 
roundings  we  found  a  regular  frontier  army 
post,  large  enough  for  six  companies  of  sol 
diers  and  their  officers.  This  was  Camp 
90 


Pedro 


PEDRO,  ESKELTESELA  AND  MIGUEL 

Apache.    You  may  be   sure   that   we   were 
warmly  welcomed,   and  every  One  tried  to 
make  us  comfortable.    When  we  were  rested 
Major  Dallas,  the  commanding  officer,  told 
me  about  the  Indian  tribes  here.    There  were 
three  bands,  all  Apaches.    The  nearest  band, 
about  one  thousand  strong,  was  only  a  few 
miles  to  the  east.     Pedro  was  their  chief. 
Eskeltesela  was  the  chief  of  another  band. 
He  was  old  and  easy-going,  but  a  good  soul. 
His  people  quarreled  some  with  their  neigh 
bors,  Major  Dallas  said,  but  on  the  whole 
gave  little  trouble.    About  twelve  miles  away 
to  the  south  was  still  another  band,  eight  hun 
dred  strong.     This  was  under  a  chief  whom 
the  white  men  called  ' '  One-Eyed  Miguel, ' '  be 
cause  he  had  only  one  eye.    These  chiefs,  the 
Major  said,  were  formal  and  ceremonious, 
and  had  plenty  of  complaints  to  make,  so  I 
might  expect  to  have  a  visit  from  them  as 
soon  as  they  knew  I  was  at  Camp  Apache. 
93 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

And  it  was  not  long  before  they  came.  Pedro 
looked  like  a  spare-boned,  hard-working 
Yankee  farmer,  and  tried  to  dress  like  a  white 
man,  for  he  had  one  white  man  in  his  band. 
Eskeltesela  was  handsome,  with  fine  features 
and  large,  clear  eyes.  He  dressed  like  a 
Mexican.  After  he  had  paid  the  usual  com 
pliments,  he  told  me  that  his  children  had 
tried  always  to  do  good,  but  they  were  often 
hungry  and  wanted  bread  and  some  meat. 

Last  came  One-Eyed  Miguel.  He  was  the 
biggest  chief  of  all,  and  indeed  was  worth 
seeing.  He  was  very  tall,  his  hair  hanging 
loose,  long,  and  unbraided.  He  seemed  to  be 
watching  all  the  time  with  his  one  eye,  and 
he  was  always  smiling.  Evidently,  come 
what  might,  he  intended  to  be  agreeable. 
Conception  interpreted  and  told  me  that 
Miguel  was  glad  to  see  "Washington  Big 
Chief ";  did  I  know  that  the  Sierra  Apaches 
came  to  the  good  Major  now  for  food,  but 
94 


PEDRO,  ESKELTESELA  AND  MIGUEL 

they  had  been  hungry  so  long  that  if  you 
touched  them  their  sharp  bones  hurt  you. 
They  had  good  corn  on  their  farms,  too,  only 
it  was  not  ripe  yet.  I  listened  to  what  Miguel 
had  to  say,  and  then  I  asked  him  if  he  would 
go  East  with  me.  He  thought  about  it  for 
some  time  and  then  said  that  he  would  go. 
At  this  time,  as  Miguel  had  told  me,  all  the 
Indians  came  once  in  two  weeks  to  Camp 
Apache  for  food,  and  when  they  came  Miguel 
took  me  to  see  his  family.  His  wife  and  chil 
dren  crowded  around  me  and  smilingly 
begged  me  to  take  good  care  of  Miguel  and 
bring  him  back  safely,  and  his  wife  said  to 
me:  "Whisky  bad  for  Miguel,  no  let  him 
drink. "  It  was  a  good  suggestion,  and  I 
pledged  all  the  Indians  who  went  with  me 
not  to  drink  any  liquor  while  they  were  gone. 
Indians  are  very  careful  always  to  keep  a 
promise,  and  every  one  kept  the  pledge  faith 
fully. 

97 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

Eskeltesela's  wife  shed  tears  at  the  pros 
pect  of  his  going  so  far  away,  but  old  Santos 
told  her  I  was  a  great  chief  and  would  bring 
Eskelt  back  safely,  so  she  was  comforted. 

Pedro  would  not  promise  to  go  at  first,  but 
he  brought  the  white  man  who  lived  with  his 
band  to  see  me.  This  man  was  well  edu 
cated,  but  he  suffered  from  a  fearful  disease, 
so  he  left  his  own  people  to  live  among  the 
Indians,  and  carefully  taught  the  tribe  and 
Pedro  many  useful  things.  He  could  act  as 
interpreter,  and  after  we  had  spoken  together 
he  told  Pedro  to  go  to  Washington  with  me, 
and  quieted  the  family  who  were  afraid,  till 
they  said:  "Go  with  the  Tatah  (Father)  and 
come  again." 

About  noon  on  the  day  of  departure  we 
drew  out  of  Camp  Apache.  There  were  eight 
Indian  chiefs  beside  Louis,  Conception,  Cap 
tain  Wilkinson,  Mr.  Cook,  and  myself,  who, 
with  the  soldiers,  made  twenty-six  in  all.  We 
98 


PEDRO,  ESKELTESELA  AND  MIGUEL 

had  two  army  wagons  and  one  spring  wagon, 
the  latter  driven  by  a  man  called  Jeems. 
Nearly  all  of  us  rode  horses  or  mules,  but 
any  one  who  was  tired  could  ride  in  the 
spring  wagon. 

The  first  day  we  made  ten  miles  in  woods 
all  the  way  over  a  good,  level  road,  and  at 
night  camped  by  a  stream  where  I  saw  plenty 
of  nice  dry  wood.  When  we  were  settled  I 
proposed  to  the  chiefs  that  we  have  a  good 
fire,  and  asked  them  to  help  me  gather  some 
wood.  Then  how  Miguel  laughed!  He  told 
Conception  to  tell  me  that  no  big  chiefs 
hauled  wood,  and  sat  down,  still  smiling  at 
what  he  thought  a  great  joke.  Then  I  told 
Concepgion  to  tell  me  that  no  big  chiefs 
chief  as  he  was,  and,  calling  Captain  Wilkin 
son,  we  began  to  draw  the  dry  branches. 
Laughing  all  the  time,  Miguel  told  the  other 
Indians  to  come  and  help.  They  helped  us 
draw  large  branches  for  the  fire  and  never 
99 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

again  refused  to  work  when  it  was  necessary. 
The  next  day  we  traveled  thirty  miles  and 
left  the  forest  behind  us,  but  at  night  our 
camp  was  beside  some  cottonwood  trees. 
The  Indians  led  us  to  a  good  spring  and  as 
the  next  day  was  Sunday  I  decided  to  spend 
it  here.  When  Miguel  heard  this,  he  rode  to 
me  on  his  Indian  pony,  and  laughing,  said: 
"  I  go  to  my  house. ' '  Louis  told  me  that  the 
chief  wanted  something,  but  added,  as  he  saw 
him  ride  off  across  the  broad  prairie:  "No 
more  Miguel."  Two  days  passed!  On  Tues 
day  when  we  had  about  given  him  up,  I  spied 
a  single  horseman  loping  along  toward  us 
from  the  northwest.  It  was  Miguel !  He  had 
kept  his  word  to  the  Tatah,  and  was  ready  to 
go  on. 

The  next  Sunday  we  encamped  beside  a 

small  river,  but  the  water  was  so  mixed  with 

clay  and  sand  that  we  could  not  make  it  clear. 

The  animals  would  not  drink,  and  every  one 

100 


PEDRO,  ESKELTESELA  AND  MIGUEL 

begged  to  go  a  few  miles  further  to  the  Rio 
Grande  and  cross  to  the  town  of  Albuquerque. 
I  was  about  to  do  this  when  Captain  Wilkin 
son,  who  had  been  roaming  about,  found  a 
spring  of  good,  clear  water,  so  we  remained. 
It  was  here  that  Louis  became  very  angry 
over  something  and  Mr.  Cook  told  him  that 
he  was  no  Christian.  Louis  felt  so  badly 
about  this  remark  that  he  came  to  me  and 
asked  if  he  might  go  back  home,  but  I  ex 
plained  to  him  that  Mr.  Cook  only  wanted  to 
help  him  to  act  as  a  Christian,  and  he  was 
happy  again.  After  this  I  often  rode  beside 
Jeems  in  the  spring  wagon.  He  talked  all 
the  time,  and  his  local  knowledge  of  robberies 
and  massacres  was  wonderful;  but  it  was 
very  sorrowful,  for  while  he  told  me  the  most 
thrilling  stories  of  highwaymen,  all  the  tales 
were  very  sad.  I  never  heard  him  tell  one 
cheerful  story.  He  would  wait  till  we  were 
passing  some  lonely  place  and  then  would  tell 
103 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

the  sorrowful  story  of  a  robbery  which  had 
taken  place  there,  till  I  almost  expected  to 
see  the  robbers  rush  out.  For  this  reason  we 
called  him  "Dismal  Jeems."  He  had  a  hard 
time  with  his  mules,  for  he  could  not  reach 
those  ahead  with  his  whip,  and  one  of  them, 
"Lucy,"  would  sway  back  in  the  harness  and 
refuse  to  pull,  just  as  if  she  knew.  I  gath 
ered  a  handful  of  pebbles  and,  whenever  she 
lagged,  tossed  one  and  hit  her  on  the  back. 
Then  she  would  start  up  and  was  as  smart  as 
the  rest.  I  believe  Lucy  thought  the  driver 
did  this,  and  made  up  her  mind  to  have  re 
venge. 

When  we  reached  the  Eio  Grande  the  water 
was  high  and  rushed  along.  We  pulled  the 
raft  ferry-boat  a  mile  up  the  stream  and 
loaded  it  so  as  to  shoot  across  diagonally  with  ' 
the  current  to  an  island  near  the  Albu 
querque  shore.  All  of  us  were  aboard  except 
Dismal  Jeems  and  the  Indians.  Jeems 
104 


Eskeltosela 


PEDRO,  ESKELTESELA  AND  MIGUEL 

jumped  on  the  raft  and  landed  just  about 
three  feet  behind  Lucy's  slender  tail.  Her 
time  had  come!  Quick  as  a  flash  her  small 
hind  feet  struck  him  in  the  chest  and  with 
such  force  that  he  turned  a  back  somersault 
into  the  river  and  disappeared  beneath  the 
water.  We  caught  him  when  he  came  to  the 
surface  and  brought  him  aboard,  but  he  was 
wet  and  groaning.  I  confess  I  was  frightened 
myself,  for  the  river  was  rushing  along  very 
rapidly,  but  the  Indians  could  hardly  contain 
themselves  as  they  sat  on  the  bank.  They 
were  doubling  up  and  rolling  on  the  ground 
with  laughter,  crying  out:  "Jondaisie  no 
bueno,"— "That  mule  no  good." 

At  Santa  Fe  we  left  our  escort  horses  and 
wagons  to  the  Indian  Agent  and  garrison,  and 
now,  dressed  in  good  civilian  clothes,  took  the 
four-horse  stage  for  Pueblo.  On  the  way  I 
happened  to  speak  of  the  earth  as  round,  and 
when  the  Indians  heard  me  they  begged  that 
107 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

I  would  not  say  so,  for  people  would  think  I 
was  troubled  with  bad  spirits;  no  one  with 
sense  could  think  the  earth  was  round.  They 
hardly  knew  what  to  say  when  I  told  them  I 
knew  a  white  man  once  who  sailed  in  a  ship 
all  the  way  around  it.  How  surprised  they 
were  over  all  the  new  things  they  saw.  I 
watched  when  they  first  saw  a  railway,  a  train 
of  cars,  a  telegraph  line,  a  tunnel  or  a  bridge ; 
sometimes  they  were  breathless  and  full  of 
fear,  at  other  times  they  showed  great  joy. 

Once  Eskeltesela  said  to  me:  "You  think 
Indians  all  bad;  look  in  my  eyes  and  see  if 
you  see  any  bad."  And  indeed  I  did  not  as  I 
looked  into  his  frank,  open  face  and  bright, 
clear  eyes. 

Miguel  carefully  counted  all  the  mountain 
peaks  as  we  traveled,  that  he  might  surely 
be  able  to  find  his  way  back,  but  as  the  train 
rushed  on  he  became  more  and  more  discour 
aged  and  at  last  he  told  me  he  had  given  it 
108 


PEDRO,  ESKELTESELA  AND  MIGUEL 

up.  He  had  trusted  me  to  come,  and  would 
trust  me  altogether  now.  In  New  York  I 
bought  Miguel  a  glass  eye.  It  was  so  much 
like  the  other  eye  that  it  was  hard  to  tell 
which  was  which.  The  doctor  told  him  to 
take  it  out  and  wash  it  now  and  then,  but 
Miguel  said:  "No,  no.  Whoever  heard  of  a 
man  taking  out  his  eye. ' '  He  was  very  proud 
of  this  new  eye,  and  had  Louis  write  and  tell 
his  people  that  when  he  came  home  he  would 
have  two  eyes  instead  of  one.  In  Philadel 
phia  I  took  the  Indians  through  the  large 
prison,  and  they  saw  the  warden  shut  all  the 
cells  and  close  the  bolts  from  a  central  sta 
tion.  They  went  along  the  halls  and  looked 
through  the  gratings.  At  last  Miguel  took  me 
aside  and  said:  "Do  you  think  there  is  one 
innocent  man  in  here  ? ' ' 

"Why?"  I  asked. 

"Because  I  was  once  in  prison  at  Santa  Fe 
for  a  whole  year,  and  I  had  done  no  wrong. 
109 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

If  there  is  one  man  here  who  is  innocent  I 
want  to  speak  to  him. ' ' 

I  told  him  that  every  man  had  had  a  fair 
trial,  and  then  he  was  satisfied. 

In  Washington  we  went  to  see  the  home 
where  children  who  are  deaf  and  dumb  are 
taught  to  read  and  write,  and  to  speak.  Here 
the  Indians  were  very  happy.  Miguel  began 
by  making  rabbits  with  his  hands  and  was  de 
lighted  when  the  children  understood  what  he 
meant.  One  after  another  the  chiefs  began 
to  tell  stories  in  the  sign  language,  and  al 
though  they  could  not  make  the  white  man 
understand  in  English,  they  could,  strange  to 
say,  tell  wonderful  stories  of  animals  and 
forests,  streams  and  prairies,  to  the  deaf  and 
dumb  children. 

Here    in    Washington    these    "  American 

chiefs"  saw  the  " Great  American  Chief," 

our  President,  and  then  we  started  back  once 

more  for  the  West.    At  Camp  Apache  all  the 

110 


PEDRO,  ESKELTESELA  AND  MIGUEL 

Indians  gathered  to  greet  Pedro,  Eskeltesela, 
and  One-Eyed  Miguel,  and  to  rejoice  over 
their  safe  return.  I  never  saw  more  signs  of 
real  joy  as  they  flocked  around  them,  but  One- 
Eyed  Miguel  was  One-Eyed  Miguel  no  longer, 
and  all  were  curious  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  this 
ever-smiling  Indian  chief  who  came  back  from 
the  white  man 's  country  with  a  new  eye. 


Ill 


VII 

COCHISE,  THE  CHIRICAHUA  APACHE  CHIEF 

ONCE  upon  a  time,  far  away  in  New 
Mexico,  an  Indian  tribe  lived  on  a 
large  stretch  of  land  near  a  place  called  Tule- 
rosa.  They  had  not  always  lived  there,  but 
now  the  white  men  said  they  must  stay  there 
and  nowhere  else,  for  there  was  much  land, 
many  trees,  and  plenty  of  water.  But  the 
ground  was  really  too  poor  for  the  Indians  to 
plant,  and  they  said  the  water  made  the  chil 
dren  sick. 

The    chief    of    this    tribe,    the    Mescalero 
Apaches,  was  Victoria,  a  good  man  who  was 
troubled  for  his  people.    He  knew  they  were 
112 


COCHISE,  THE  APACHE  CHIEF 

discontented  and  wanted  to  go  on  the  war 
path  and  that  it  was  better  for  them  to  keep 
peace. 

Now  not  far  away  from  Tulerosa  Uncle 
Sam  had  an  army  post  where  some  soldiers 
lived  who  believed  that  the  Indians  had  good 
reason  to  be  unhappy.  They  thought  about 
it  awhile  and  then  wrote  down  all  they  had 
heard  the  Indians  say  and  sent  it  in  a  letter 
to  President  Grant  at  Washington.  Presi 
dent  Grant  wanted  everybody  in  the  whole 
country  to  be  happy,  so  he  decided  to  send 
some  one  out  to  Tulerosa  to  see  just  what  the 
matter  was  and  what  could  be  done. 

I  was  very  busy  just  then  in  Washington, 
but  the  President  sent  for  me  and  told  me 
not  to  wait  a  minute,  but  go  right  out  to  New 
Mexico  and  find  out  about  things;  so,  of 
course,  I  went. 

After  I  arrived  the  very  first  Indian  I  saw 
was  the  chief,  Victoria.    He  had  been  trying 
113 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

his  best  to  keep  peace  but  there  were  Indians 
on  the  war-path  near  by,  who  made  it  just  as 
hard  for  him  as  they  could,  and  among  these 
Cochise,  the  chief  of  the  Chiricahua  Apaches, 
was  the  most  warlike. 

He  had  been  fighting  for  many  years,  tak 
ing  prisoners  from  the  long  wagon-trains 
that  passed  by,  burning  the  wagons,  and 
driving  off  the  horses  and  mules  quite  like 
an  old  German  robber  baron.  He  lived  in 
a  stronghold,  a  great  fortress  among  the 
rocks,  Vay  up  in  the  Dragoon  Mountains, 
and  from  here  he  attacked  stages  until  none 
could  go  along  the  highways  or  on  any  road 
near  where  he  lived. 

He  never  took  prisoners.  No,  indeed;  he 
killed  all  the  white  people  he  came  across,  and 
had  never  spared  one,  except  a  man  the  In 
dians  called  Taglito,  which  means  Bed  Beard. 
His  real  name  was  Jeffords,  and  he  was  a 
white  guide.  How  he  alone  came  to  be  spared 
114 


COCHISE,  THE  APACHE  CHIEF 

nobody  knew.  Of  course,  there  could  never 
be  peace  till  Cochise  agreed  to  it,  so  I  told 
Victoria  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  try  and 
see  this  powerful  warrior.  Victoria  was  hor 
rified.  He  seemed  to  think  this  out  of  the 
question,  for  no  white  man  had  ever  seen 
Cochise  and  lived,  except  this  same  scout, 
Captain  Jeffords.  But  where  there  's  a  will 
there  's  a  way,  and  I  did  not  give  up,  and 
kept  at  Victoria  to  help  me. 

At  last  he  said  there  was  one  Indian  who 
might  help  me.  This  was  Chie,  the  son  of 
Mangus  CpjbradojURed  Sleeve),  a  brother  of 
the  warlike  Cochise.  Chie's  father,  Red 
Sleeve,  was  killed  by  the  white  men  when  Chie 

was  a  tiny  boy,  so  I  could  not  expect  much 
i 

\  help  from  him,  but  it  was  worth  trying  and 
Victoria  brought  him  to  see  me.  He  was  a 
fine-looking  young  Indian,  dressed  in  deer 
skin  from  head  to  foot,  but  with  no  cap,  for 
his  own  thick  black  hair  was  cap  enough. 
115 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

To  my  surprise  I  found  him  inclined  to  be 
friendly,  and  he  spoke  so  much  of  Jeffords 
and  the  love  of  his  Uncle  Cochise  for  the 
scout,  that  I  decided  to  see  the  famous  Tag- 
lito.  He  was  out  just  then  acting  as  a  guide 
to  a  troop  of  soldiers,  but  the  next  day  would 
return,  and  then  I  could  see  him. 

As  soon  as  he  arrived  the  commanding  of 
ficer  sent  him  to  me,  and  when  he  entered  my 
tent  I  did  not  wonder  that  he  was  called 
"  Captain. "  He  was  very  tall  and  fine  look 
ing,  with  clear  blue  eyes  and  a  long  bright 
red  beard. 

I  said  to  him : i  4  They  tell  me  that  you  have 
really  been  up  in  the  Dragoon  Mountains  in 
the  stronghold  of  the  famous  Apache  chief - 
Cochise?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  he  replied,  "I  have!  Some 
people  doubt  it,  but  I  assure  you  I  made  the 
old  chief  a  visit  last  year. ' ' 

"You  are  the  first  man,"  I  said,  "who  has 
116 


COCHISE,  THE  APACHE  CHIEF 

been  able  to  get  beyond  his  Indian  spies.  I 
want  to  go  to  see  him ;  will  you  take  me  1 " 

Jeffords  looked  very  steadily  into  my  face 
with  his  fearless  eyes  and  then  he  said : ' '  Yes, 
General  Howard,  I  will ;  but  you  must  go  with 
out  any  soldiers." 

"All  right/'  I  said,  "get  ready  to  start  as 
soon  as  you  can." 

Now  Jeffords  never  hurried,  he  went  to 
work  very  quietly  and  soon  had  done  what 
was  necessary.  The  next  day  he  had  a  talk 
with  Victoria  and  Chie  and  then  came  to  see 
me  again.  He  told  me  the  first  thing  to  do 
was  to  go  with  a  few  chosen  Indians  right 
out  of  our  way  back  to  the  Eio  Grande  Eiver. 
This  seemed  very  funny  to  me,  but  Jeffords 
said  that  Victoria  wanted  very  much  to  show 
General  Howard  his  beloved  country,  Can- 
yada  Alamosa,  and  it  would  not  do  to  disap 
point  him,  for  we  needed  his  help  very  much 
and  must  keep  him  in  good  humor.  Chie 
117 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

promised  to  go  with  us  to  see  his  Uncle 
Cochise  if  I  would  give  him  a  horse,  and  his 
wife,  who  stayed  behind,  a  horse  too.  Again 
I  said :"  All  right. " 

Jeffords  thought  that  we  could  find  Ponce, 
a  friend  of  Cochise,  not  far  from  Canyada 
Alamosa,  with  his  band  of  Indians.  He  was 
a  wild  fellow,  but  he  could  interpret  from 
Spanish  into  Apache  to  perfection,  and,  be 
sides,  Cochise  always  believed  what  he  said. 

The  next  morning  Victoria  was  ready  to 
lead  us  with  a  small  band  of  his  men  over  the 
one  hundred  miles  to  the  Eio  Grande.  Here 
he  showed  me  the  Canyada  Alamosa  and  the 
ojo  caliente  (hot  spring),  where  his  tribe 
used  to  live.  How  they  loved  their  old  home ! 
Would  I  not  beg  Uncle  Sam  to  let  them  come 
back  from  Tulerosa  and  live  once  more  in 
their  own  home  land?  Indeed,  I  was  glad  to 
promise  to  do  what  I  could,  and  then  I  said 
good-by  to  the  chief  and  his  Indians.  We 
118 


COCHISE,  THE  APACHE  CHIEF 

must  find  Ponce.  Jeffords  and  I  were  some 
distance  ahead  of  our  few  followers  when  we 
came  to  the  edge  of  an  immense  ravine.  The 
Rio  Negro  (or  Black  River,  because  the  water 
is  so  dark)  flowed  at  the  bottom.  Along  the 
banks  of  this  river  the  farmers  had  planted 
corn  and  about  three  miles  away  we  could  see 
Ponce  and  his  band  helping  themselves  freely 
to  the  ripe  ears.  We  rode  as  fast  as  we  could 
till  we  were  right  in  the  midst  of  the  Indians 
and  then  Jeffords,  seeing  that  several  were 
sitting  in  a  circle  playing  games,  sat  down 
among  them.  I  found  some  small  boys  a  few 
steps  away  and  began  to  amuse  them,  while 
the  women  watched  with  their  eyes  cast  down 
as  they  worked  over  their  pots  and  kettles  or 
roasted  the  ears  of  green  corn.  By  and  by 
we  told  Ponce  what  we  wanted  and  asked  him 
to  go  with  us  as  a  guide  and  interpreter.  He 
agreed  to  go  if  we  would  arrange  to  let  his 
people  meanwhile  camp  near  a  country  store 
119 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

and  be  supplied  from  the  store  with  food. 
Ponce  was  given  a  good  horse,  but  he  gave 
it  to  his  wife  and  came  to  me  for  another. 
Now  I  had  no  more  horses,  so  I  told  him  he 
would  have  to  ride  behind  on  my  horse. 
Sometimes  I  said  he  could  ride,  sometimes  I 
would.  With  this  arrangement  he  was  per 
fectly  satisfied,  and,  a  party  of  nine  men,  we 
started  for  the  border  of  Arizona,  nearly  300 
miles  away.  Ponce  was  a  fat,  good-natured, 
lawless  fellow,  lazy  in  camp,  but  capable  of 
great  endurance,  of  intense  energy  on  the 
hunt  for  game  and  tireless  when  on  the  march. 
One  day  Ponce  and  I  were  riding  quietly,  his 
arms  around  me  from  behind,  when  he  saw  a 
deer  track.  At  once  he  was  alert,  threw  him 
self  to  the  ground  and,  rifle  in  hand,  pressed 
the  deer  till  he  had  him  caught  in  a  thicket.  I 
heard  just  one  shot  and  then  Ponce  came 
back  to  the  road  with  the  deer  swung  over  his 
shoulders. 

120 


COCHISE,  THE  APACHE  CHIEF 

We  came,  after  a  while,,  to  a  place  called 
Silver  City.  It  was  only  a  little  town,  but 
there  was  a  hotel  where  we  could  spend  the 
night.  After  we  had  settled  down  some  one 
told  me  that  the  people  who  lived  in  Silver 
City  did  not  like  Indians,  and  that  they  were 
going  to  take  Ponce  and  Chie  in  the  morn 
ing  and  kill  them.  When  I  knew  this  was 
true  I  told  nobody  but  very  early  in  the  morn 
ing  we  all  got  up  and  were  far  away  from 
Silver  City  long  before  the  people  who  lived 
there  were  awake.  Now  there  was  one  white 
man  who  hated  Indians  more  than  any  one 
else  in  Silver  City  because  some  bad  Indians 
had  killed  his  brother.  Well,  he  said  that  he 
would  never  be  happy  till  he  had  killed  an 
Apache,  so  he  managed  to  get  in  front  of  us 
on  the  road.  He  was  very  angry  when  he 
saw  us,  and  pulled  out  his  gun  ready  to  fire 
at  Ponce  and  Chie.  We  were  all  on  horse 
back,  and  when  this  bad  man  rode  forward, 
121 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

pointing  his  gun  at  the  Indians,  I  believe  I 
was  angry  too.  Anyway,  I  turned  my  horse 
so  that  I  was  between  the  gun  and  our  Apache 
guides. 

"Man,"  I  said,  "shoot  them,  if  you  please, 
but  you  '11  have  to  shoot  me  first."  This 
made  him  more  angry  than  ever,  but  I  think 
he  must  have  been  a  coward  at  heart,  after 
all,  for  he  did  not  quite  dare  to  shoot  the  rep 
resentative  of  President  Grant,  and  so  he 
turned  his  horse  and  rode  away;  but  Ponce 
and  Chie  never  forgot. 

At  last  we  reached  the  Mogollon  mountain 
range.  Here  Chie  ran  ahead  of  us  and 
started  nine  fires,  far  enough  apart  so  that 
anybody  up  in  the  wooded  heights  could  see 
the  smoke  and  count  them.  It  meant  that  we 
came  in  peace  and  that  there  were  nine  of  us. 
After  a  little  while  Chie  began  to  bark  like  a 
coyote,  and,  as  we  listened  a  coyote  bark 
came  back  from  the  hills.  Chie  waited  not  a 
122 


Il<j  <li<l  not  quite  dan-  to  shoot  the  representative  of  President  Grant 


COCHISE,  THE  APACHE  CHIEF 

moment,  but  ran  quickly  up  the  steep  moun 
tain  side  and  disappeared  among  the  trees. 
There  was  nothing  for  us  to  do  but  to  wait 
for  him  to  come  back,  and  when  he  finally  did 
return  a  small  party  of  Cochise's  Indians 
were  with  him.  We  had  run  into  a  small 
party  of  Cochise's  Indians  under  Nazee,  a 
sub-chief.  The  springs  of  water  had  dried 
up  in  the  Chiricahua  Range  of  mountains  and 
that  was  why  they  were  so  far  away.  There 
was  only  one  spring  of  water  and  that  night 
we  all  shared  it.  In  the  morning  with  Ponce 
to  talk  for  us  we  had  a  council  with  Nazee. 
He  told  us  that  we  were  still  a  hundred  miles 
from  Cochise,  and  that  we  would  never  find 
him  as  long  as  there  were  so  many  of  us. 
Nine  had  not  seemed  very  much  to  me,  but  I 
was  determined  to  see  Cochise,  if  I  possibly 
could,  and  I  sent  every  one  back  except  Cap 
tain  Sladen  (my  aide),  Jeffords,  and  the  two 
Indian  guides,  Ponce  and  Chie ;  so  we  started 
125 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

once  more.  The  next  night  we  came  to 
Kodger's  Eanch?  near  Sulphur  Springs,  and 
Ponce  and  Chie  were  afraid  of  old  Bodger's 
dogs,  for  he  taught  them  to  bark  at  Indians 
and  bite  them. 

I  had  settled  down  for  the  night  with  a  bear 
skin  thrown  over  me  and  I  told  Ponce  to  stay 
by  Captain  Sladen,  and  Chie  to  come  and 
sleep  with  me.  Chie  came  to  my  bed  on  the 
ground,  but  when  he  had  one  look  at  my  bear 
skin,  he  cried :  ' i  Shosh !  Shosh !  no  bueno ! ' ' 
(bear,  bear,  no  good)  and  refused  to  come 
nearer.  I  threw  aside  my  bear  skin  and  with 
two  good  blankets  made  him  comfortable  all 
the  night,  for  afraid  as  he  was  of  the  savage 
dogs,  he  feared  the  bear  skin  more. 

By  the  next  day  we  were  on  the  west  side 
of  the  Dragoon  Mountains.  Here  we  rested 
by  a  clear  flowing  stream,  while  Chie  went 
ahead  of  us  into  Cochise's  stronghold.  He 
did  not  return,  but  after  awhile  two  Indian 
126 


COCHISE,  THE  APACHE  CHIEF 

lads  rode  toward  us  on  an  Indian  pony.  We 
received  them  as  guides  and  offered  them  food 
and  drink,  which  they  seemed  to  enjoy.  Then 
they  were  ready  and  pushed  us  on,  riding 
behind  us  for  five  or  six  miles  along  a  narrow 
ravine  which  led  us  finally  into  the  very 
stronghold  of  Cochise.  Forty  acres  were  in 
closed  by  a  natural  wall  of  rock,  nearly  a 
hundred  feet  high,  and  the  only  way  in  or 
out  was  by  following  the  tiny  mountain  brook 
at  the  bottom  of  the  ravine.  When  we  were 
once  in,  it  was  very  beautiful,  for  the  grass 
was  high,  making  a  thick  green  carpet,  and 
there  were  lovely  shrubs. 

Here  we  met  another  sub-chief,  Nasakee, 
but  there  were  no  other  warriors,  only  a  few 
old  men  and  many  women  and  children. 
When  we  finally  arrived  at  the  stronghold, 
Cochise  was  off  hunting,  or  hiding,  and 
Nasakee  said  he  could  not  tell  us  what  Cochise 
would  do  with  us  when  he  came  back,  whether 
127 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

it  would  be  peace  or  war.  I  could  see  that 
Chie  felt  very  much  afraid,  for  his  uncle 
might  be  angry  at  him  for  bringing  us. 
Ponce  lost  his  usual  jolly  looks.  Would  the 
great  chief  accept  our  peace  message  in  the 
morning,  or  would  he  kill  us  as  he  had  killed 
all  the  other  white  prisoners. 

Whatever  happened  in  the  morning  we 
were  safe  for  one  night,  and  must  make  the 
best  of  it.  I  wanted  to  talk  with  the  boys  and 
girls,  so  I  took  out  my  memorandum  book 
and  holding  up  an  arrow,  said:  "What  's 
that?"  All  the  children  cried:  "What  's 
that?"  But  I  said:  "Apache."  One  boy 
saw  in  a  minute  what  I  wanted,  and  called 
out :  ' '  Kah, "  so  I  wrote  it  down  in  my  book. 
Next  I  held  up  a  bow.  "Eltien,"  said  the 
children,  and  in  a  few  minutes  they  were 
bringing  all  sorts  of  things  and  telling  me 
their  names  in  Apache.  The  women  stood 
around  laughing,  and  so  I  spent  the  hours  till 
128 


COCHISE,  THE  APACHE  CHIEF 

it  was  dark,  and  they  went  away  to  sleep  un 
der  the  trees,  but  when  I  put  my  head  on  a 
saddle  and  drew  a  blanket  over  me  for  the 
night,  the  children  put  their  little  heads  all 
around  on  my  cover  and  fell  asleep,  too. 
"Sladen,"  I  said,  "this  does  not  mean  war "; 
and  very  soon  I  fell  asleep  and  did  not  wake 
till  morning. 

We  had  just  had  our  breakfast  when  the 
chief  rode  in.  He  wore  a  single  robe  of  stout 
cotton  cloth  and  a  Mexican  sombrero  on  his 
head  with  eagle  feathers  on  it.  With  him 
were  his  sister  and  his  wife,  Natchee,  his  son, 
about  fourteen  years  old,  and  Juan,  his 
brother,  beside  other  Indians.  When  he  saw 
us  he  sprang  from  his  horse  and  threw  his 
arms  about  Jeffords  and  embraced  him  twice, 
first  on  one  side,  then  on  the  other.  When 
Jeffords  told  him  who  I  was,  he  turned  to 
me  in  a  gentlemanly  way,  holding  out  his 
hand,  and  saying:  "Buenos  dias,  serior" 

7  129 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

(Good  day,  sir).  He  greeted  us  all  pleasantly 
and  asked  us  to  go  to  the  council  ground 
where  the  chief  Indians  had  already  gathered. 
Just  as  we  started,  Ponce  told  an  Indian 
woman  of  the  death  of  one  of  her  friends 
among  the  Mescaleros.  She  listened  for  a  mo 
ment,  then  gave  forth  a  shrill,  sorrowful,  pro 
longed  cry.  Instantly  every  Indian  stood 
still  and  showed  silent  respect  till  her  re 
peated  wailings  had  ceased.  Then  we  went 
on  and  took  our  seats  on  the  blankets  spread 
for  us  and  the  council  opened. 

Ponce  and  Chie  first  told  Cochise  all  about 
me,  who  I  was,  and  what  I  had  done  for  other 
Indians.  He  seemed  very  pleased  with  the 
story,  and  you  may  be  sure  we  watched  very 
carefully  to  see  how  he  took  it.  Then  he 
turned  to  Jeffords,  and,  calling  him  Taglito, 
told  him  to  ask  me  what  I  came  to  him  for. 
I  answered  him  plainly  that  the  President 

had  sent  me  to  make  peace  with  him.    He  re- 
130 


COCHISE,  THE  APACHE  CHIEF 

plied:  "Nobody  wants  peace  more  than  I  do. 
I  have  killed  ten  white  men  for  every  Indian 
I  have  lost,  but  still  the  white  men  are  no  less, 
and  my  tribe  keeps  growing  smaller  and 
smaller,  till  it  will  disappear  from  the  face  of 
the  earth  if  we  do  not  have  a  good  peace 
soon. "  He  told  me  too  how  the  war  with  the 
white  men  began.  An  officer  had  lost  some 
horses,  so  he  seized  Cochise,  his  brother, 
Mangus  Colorado,  and  some  other  Indians, 
and  put  them  in  a  tent  under  guard.  Cochise 
slit  the  tent  with  a  knife  and  escaped.  Then 
he  seized  the  first  white  man  he  met  and  sent 
word  to  the  officer  that  he  would  tie  a  rope 
round  the  white  man's  neck,  hitch  him  to  a 
pony  and  drag  him  along  till  he  died.  He 
would  let  the  officer  know  that  if  he  hurt  In 
dian  prisoners  Cochise  would  drag  white  men 
by  ropes  till  they  died.  But  the  officer  would 
not  hear.  He  took  the  Indians  and  hanged 
them  all  in  Apache  Pass.  So  war  began,  and 
131 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

how  could  it  be  stopped?  It  was  a  dreadful 
story.  I  had  heard  part  of  it  before,  but  now 
as  I  listened  I  was  very,  very  sorry.  Cochise 
asked  me  how  long  I  would  stay.  He  said  it 
would  take  ten  days  for  all  of  his  captains  to 
come  into  camp,  for  they  were  off  in  all  direc 
tions.  I  told  him  I  would  stay  as  long  as  it 
took  to  make  peace.  Cochise  was  very  much 
afraid  if  any  of  his  captains  met  the  soldiers, 
that  the  soldiers  would  fire  on  them  and  then 
there  would  be  war  again,  so  I  proposed  to 
send  Captain  Sladen  to  Fort  Bowie,  where 
he  could  telegraph  to  all  the  soldiers  in  New 
Mexico  and  Arizona  not  to  fire  on  Indians, 
but  Cochise  shook  his  head.  "No,  no/'  he 
said,  "you  go.  Leave  Captain  Sladen  here; 
we  will  take  good  care  of  him."  I  was  very 
willing  to  go,  and  felt  sure  that  Captain  Sla 
den  would  be  safe  even  in  Cochise 's  strong 
hold;  but  who  would  be  my  guide?  All  the 
Indians  were  afraid,  for  I  was  going  straight 
132 


COCHISE,  THE  APACHE  CHIEF 

among  soldiers  and  they  knew  that  most  sol 
diers  did  not  like  Indians.  Every  one  who 
was  asked  to  be  my  guide,  refused,  even 
Ponce.  At  last  Chie  said  he  would  go.  I 
had  saved  his  life  once  and  he  did  not  believe 
I  would  let  the  soldiers  hurt  him. 

On  two  good  mules  Chie  and  I  made  the 
journey  to  Fort  Bowie,  and  were  back  again 
by  the  second  day,  followed  by  a  wagon  with 
provisions,  and  a  spring  wagon  drawn  by 
four  mules.  While  we  were  gone  Cochise  had 
chosen  a  new  camp  ground  looking  west.  On 
a  high  rock,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away,  a  large 
white  flag  on  a  pole  stood  out  plainly.  When 
we  arrived  we  spread  a  piece  of  canvas  on  the 
ground  and  called  it  a  table.  I  took  the  head 
and  Sladen  at  the  foot  was  carver.  Cochise 
sat  at  my  right  and  Jeffords  with  Chie  on 
the  left,  Ponce  and  one  or  two  others  between. 
Here  we  ate  three  times  a  day,  and  Cochise 
and  I  became  close  friends  while  we  waited 
133 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

for  his  captains  to  arrive.  When  they  did 
come  he  held  a  Spirit  meeting,  taking  his 
stand  in  a  cozy  place  surrounded  by  small 
trees  and  wild  vines.  The  women  formed  a 
large  circle  sitting  side  by  side.  The  men  in 
side  the  ring  sat  or  knelt.  Then  followed  a 
wonderful  song  in  which  all  joined.  It  began 
like  the  growl  of  a  bear  and  rising  little  by 
little  to  a  high  pitch,  lasted  ten  or  more  min 
utes  and  then  suddenly  stopped.  After  this 
Cochise  interpreted  to  the  people  the  will  of 
the  Spirits,  saying:  "The  Spirits  have  de 
cided  that  Indians  and  white  men  shall  eat 
bread  together. ' ' 

Then  what  a  rejoicing  there  was.  The  In 
dian  captains  crowded  around  us  and  tried  in 
every  way  to  make  me  understand  their  joy, 
promising  to  keep  the  peace. 

The  next  day  we  all  went  ten  or  twelve 
miles  to  Dragoon  Springs,  where  we  met 
Major  Sam  Sunnier  and  the  officers  from 
134 


COCHISE,  THE  APACHE  CHIEF 

Fort  Bowie  who  came  at  my  request  to  con 
firm  the  *  *  Great  Peace. ' ' 

When  Cochise  saw  their  uniforms  in  the 
distance  he  put  his  warriors  at  once  into  a 
sort  of  skirmish  order,  so  that  they  could  go 
forward  for  battle,  seek  cover,  or  run  back  in 
retreat  at  his  word  of  command,  but  Captain 
Sladen  and  I  brought  about  a  happy  and 
cheerful  meeting,  and  the  great  good  peace 
which  we  had  made  in  the  mountains  was  wit 
nessed  and  confirmed.  Then  we  went  with 
Cochise  and  his  five  hundred  Indians  to  Sul 
phur  Springs  near  Eodger's  Ranch.  Captain 
Jeffords  was  made  Indian  Agent,  and  a  large 
reserve  of  good  public  land  was  put  aside  for 
these  Indians. 

At  last,  when  I  was  about  to  go,  Cochise 
wrapped  me  in  his  arms  and  begged  me  to 
stay  with  him,  but  I  said:  "Your  men  obey 
you  and  I  must  obey  the  President,  who 
wants  me  to  come  back  to  Washington  and 
135 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

tell  him  all  about  this  'Good  Peace.'  "  And 
as  I  started  for  my  home  so  far  away  I  felt 
very  happy,  for  I  knew  that  while  Cochise 
was  a  wild,  desperate  warrior,  still  his  heart 
was  warm  toward  me,  and  he  was  true  to  his 
friends  and  every  inch  a  man  "for  a'  that." 


136 


VIII 

MANUELITO  :    A  NAVAJO  WAR  CHIEF 

YOU  all  remember  how  the  Indian  chiefs 
went  with  me  to  see  the  great  Ameri 
can  chief,  President  Grant,  in  Washington, 
and  what  a  long  ride  we  had  before  we  took 
a  train.  Well,  during  that  trip  we  rested  for 
two  days  at  Fort  Wingate  in  New  Mexico, 
and  here  for  the  first  time  I  saw  some  Navajo 
Indians.  They  are  cousins  of  the  Apaches, 
and  the  language  of  the  two  tribes  is  so  much 
alike  that  they  can  easily  understand  each 
other.  Some  people  have  said  that  the  word 
Navajo  comes  from  the  Spanish  word  for 
knife,  but  probably  it  is  an  Indian  word  mean- 
137 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

ing  "well-planted  fields. "  There  were  about 
7000  in  the  tribe  and  they  lived  in  log  huts 
and  raised  corn,  but  their  chief  living  was 
from  large  flocks  of  sheep  and  goats.  From 
these  they  got  plenty  of  wool  which  they  dyed 
in  soft  colors  and  from  which  the  women 
made  splendid  blankets  known  the  world  over 
for  their  beauty.  These  are  the  famous  Na- 
vajo  blankets  you  have  heard  about. 

Now  the  Apaches  and  Navajos  are  cousins, 
but  they  have  not  always  been  friendly  cous 
ins,  and  just  about  this  time  they  had  been 
fighting  each  other  rather  hard.  I  am  sorry 
to  say  that  some  of  the  white  people  thought 
it  was  a  good  thing  for  Indians  to  fight  each 
other;  it  would  help  kill  them  off,  they  said. 
Of  course  it  was  a  good  thing  for  Indians  to 
stop  fighting  white  men,  but  the  more  they 
fought  Indians  the  better.  Now  I  thought 
this  was  all  wrong,  so  I  made  up  my  mind  to 
help  the  Indians  to  make  peace  with  the  In- 
138 


MANUELITO,  A  NAVAJO  WAR  CHIEF 

dians  as  well  as  with  us.  I  had  talked  with 
my  four  Apache  chiefs  about  this,  and  Santos 
was  heart  and  soul  with  me.  Pedro  agreed 
with  us,  but  Eskeltesela  was  doubtful,  and 
Miguel  made  many  objections.  He  said  the 
Navajos  had  behaved  badly  to  his  Indians, 
had  broken  up  their  lodges  and  stolen  their 
corn,  and  must  be  punished.  Miguel  had  a 
good  deal  of  the  old  war  spirit  left  in  him. 

Well,  here  we  were  at  Fort  Wingate  in  New 
Mexico  within  ten  miles  of  the  principal  Na- 
vajo  village,  and  were  resting  for  the  night. 
We  had  taken  the  packs  from  our  tired  mules 
and  let  them  loose  to  roll  in  the  dust  or  run 
to  the  neighboring  stream  for  water.  We  had 
unsaddled  the  horses  and  tied  them  near  by. 
Our  driver,  Dismal  Jeems,  was  getting  sup 
per  and  looked  as  happy  as  I  ever  saw  him  as 
he  thought  of  the  good  things  which  would 
soon  be  ready.  Then  of  a  sudden  we  heard 
a  loud  whoop,  as  loud  and  long  as  any  you 
139 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

ever  heard  in  Buffalo  Bill 's  show.  One-Eyed 
Miguel  was  quickest  to  catch  the  sound  and 
he  knew  what  it  meant.  ' '  Indian  horsemen ! ' ' 
he  cried,  and  sure  enough  there  they  were. 
Navajos  in  full  gala  costume;  the  men  with 
bright  blankets,  streaming  hair,  and  feathered 
hats,  the  horses  with  braided  manes  tied 
with  red  and  yellow.  To  see  them  charging 
toward  us  was  enough  to  make  our  hearts 
beat  very  fast,  but  the  Indians  only  laughed 
and  said:  "Good,  good!  it  is  only  a  Navajo 
visit !" 

The  brilliant  Navajos  rode  up  at  a  trot, 
halted  all  together  and  came  to  the  ground  at 
once,  each  holding  his  bridle  and  resting  his 
right  hand  upon  the  pommel  of  his  saddle. 
The  leader's  horse  stood  waiting  while  he 
came  toward  me  and  stretched  out  his  right 
hand,  saying:  "Buenos  dias"  (Good  day). 

This  was  Manuelito,  the  Navajo  war  chief. 
He  was  over  six  feet  tall  and  weighed  per- 
140 


MANUELITO,  A  NAVAJO  WAR  CHIEF 

haps  two  hundred  pounds.  He  was  dressed 
all  in  deerskin  with  fringes  on  his  coat  and 
trousers  and  had  on  new  leggings,  buttoned 
at  the  side,  and  moccasins  on  his  small  feet. 
His  hair  was  worn  in  many  short  braids  and 
he  had  on  a  Mexican  hat  with  a  feather  tucked 
into  the  brim  and  tassels  hanging  over.  He 
wore  many  strings  of  beads  around  his  neck, 
too,  and  was  as  fine  a  looking  fellow  as  you 
ever  saw. 

Mr.  Cook  and  Louis  hastened  to  help  Dis 
mal  Jeems,  and  we  brought  fresh  stores  from 
our  packs  and  added  a  piece  of  canvas  to  our 
table-cloth.  Then  we  sat  down  to  supper  and 
Manuelito  was  given  the  seat  of  honor  at  my 
right. 

I  think  Miguel  was  not  quite  pleased  at  this, 
for  he  looked  at  me  with  a  sly  twinkle  in  his 
one  eye  and  said,  * '  Bad  Manuelito,  he  has  not 
been  war  chief  of  the  Navajos  very  long." 

After  the  supper  Manuelito  shook  hands 
143 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

again,  said  good  night,  and  then  they  all 
mounted  and  were  off,  but  not  before  we  had 
planned  for  a  council  the  following  day  at  the 
Navajo  village. 

The  next  morning  the  sun  rose  clear  and 
bright,  and  peace  seemed  to  be  in  all  that 
beautiful  land.  By  eight  o'clock  we  were  in 
motion,  but  the  Indians  were  thoughtful  and 
in  no  haste  to  lead  the  way.  It  took  us  two 
hours  to  ride  the  ten  miles.  Some  Navajo 
scouts  met  us  half-way  and  guided  us  to  a 
good  spring.  Here  was  a  pretty  grassy  knoll 
and  we  camped  beneath  a  group  of  pine-trees 
whispering  in  the  summer  breeze. 

The  principal  chief,  Juanito,  was  an  old 
man,  lame  and  feeble.  He  limped  over  to  pay 
his  respects  to  me,  but  pretended  not  to  see 
my  Apache  Indians.  I  asked  him  to  be  pres 
ent  at  the  council,  but  he  whispered  something 
about  my  having  the  wicked  Miguel  with  me, 

and  would  not  promise. 
144 


MANUELITO,  A  NAVAJO  WAR  CHIEF 

Everything  was  ready  at  the  hour  ap 
pointed  for  the  council  and  I  went  to  a  small 
grove  where  a  platform  had  been  made  of 
rough  boards  large  enough  for  the  Indian 
chiefs  and  myself.  Mr.  Cook,  Louis,  and  Cap 
tain  Wilkinson  were  with  me,  but  the  Indians 
did  not  appear.  We  waited  and  waited,  till 
at  last  I  remembered  that  neither  party 
wanted  to  be  first  at  the  council.  Then  I 
asked  Captain  Wilkinson  to  go  to  Juanito  and 
ask  him  to  come  and  see  me  and  bring  his  war 
chief  with  him. 

Mr.  Cook  went  to  Miguel  and  told  him  I 
wanted  to  see  him  and  the  other  chiefs,  and 
Louis  took  my  message  to  Santos.  To  be  sure 
they  all  knew  what  it  meant,  and  they  came, 
watching  each  other  carefully  so  that  they 
should  all  arrive  at  the  same  moment.  Miguel 
and  Manuelito  were  both  laughing  when  they 
stepped  on  the  platform  and  soon  all  were 
talking  cheerfully  to  each  other.  Santos  took 
145 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

great  pains  to  make  friends  with  Juanito  and 
I  began  to  feel  sure  of  a  good  peace. 

All  Indian  councils  are  very  ceremonious— 
if  you  know  what  that  big  word  means— and 
every  one  puts  on  his  very  best  manners  for 
the  occasion. 

Mr.  Cook  opened  the  meeting  with  prayer. 
I  explained  that  the  great  chief  at  Washing 
ton  had  sent  me  on  a  peace  mission  and  then 
Juanito  said  he  always  wanted  peace,  for  he 
planted  fields,  raised  sheep,  ponies,  and  cows, 
and  made  blankets  and  many  other  things. 
His  young  men  hunted  in  the  mountains  too, 
but  the  Apaches  made  wars. 

Then  Manuelito— splendid  fellow  that  he 
was— stood  up  and  spoke,  for  he  was  the  war 
chief.  He  said  he  was  all  for  peace.  Of 
course  he  had  had  to  fight  the  Apaches,  Mig 
uel  knew  that,  but  now  he  wanted  a  solid 
peace  and  to  be  friends  with  Apaches  and  all 
the  Indians  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona. 
146 


MANUELITO,  A  NAVAJO  WAR  CHIEF 

Santos  spoke  in  the  same  spirit  and  so  did 
Miguel  and  the  others. 

After  all  had  spoken  Manuelito  rose  and 
asked  to  speak  again.  He  had  been  thinking, 
and  he  said  he  was  sure  that  he  could  stop  all 
the  badly  disposed  Navajos  from  hurting 
Indians  or  white  men.  He  asked  me  to  ap 
point  twenty  Navajo  policemen  and  dress 
them  in  United  States  uniform,  for  ihen 
every  Indian  would  know  them  and  every 
white  man  would  respect  them.  He  asked  me 
to  give  them  the  same  pay  as  soldiers  and 
then  they  would  be  proud  and  obey  their 
leader  and  there  would  be  no  more  trouble 
from  the  Navajos.  This  I  agreed  to  do  and 
Manuelito  chose  and  commanded  a  fine  body 
of  Indians.  So  ended  the  council,  but  a  month 
later  on  our  return  from  Washington,  we 
reached  that  same  old  Fort  Wingate  just  be 
fore  sundown  and  were  met  by  Manuelito  and 

his  special  policemen.     They  wore  soldiers' 
s  147 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

hats  with  grand  army  cords  and  tassels,  blue 
blouses  and  belts  with  two  pistols  to  show 
their  authority. 

"Buenos  dias,  signor!  Bueno  —  bueno, ' ' 
cried  Manuelito,  as  he  sprang  to  the  ground 
and  with  bridle  in  hand  stood  ready  to  em 
brace  me.  Nearby  the  Navajos  had  a  bivouac, 
and  that  night  we  camped  near  them.  In  the 
morning  Manuelito  rode  beside  me  and  told 
me  that  peace  had  prevailed. 

When,  after  riding  ten  miles,  we  reached  a 
beautiful  spring  we  lunched  together  beneath 
some  shady  cottonwood  trees  and  then  Man 
uelito  bade  us  farewell.  As  he  and  his  men 
rode  away  my  eyes  followed  this  splendid 
leader,  and  I  rejoiced  that  so  fine  a  man  was 
using  every  energy  to  bring  joy  and  happi 
ness  to  all  about  him— a  war  chief  no  longer, 
but  a  man  of  peace. 


148 


IX 

CAPTAIN  JACK,  CHIEF  OF  THE  MODOC  INDIANS 

IT  was  a  queer  country  where  the  Modocs 
lived.  Their  land  stretched  along  for 
sixty-five  miles,  measured  on  the  straight  line 
that  separates  Oregon  from  California,  and  it 
was  thirty  miles  wide,  some  in  Oregon  and 
some  in  California. 

Parts  were  fairly  good  for  cattle  and  horses 
where  the  earth  was  rich,  but  most  of  it  was 
in  hillocks  and  knolls  all  stony  and  so  much 
alike  that  it  was  not  much  easier,  than  on  the 
water,  to  find  the  way  without  a  compass. 
This  land  was  called  the  ' i  lava  bed  country, ' ' 
and  it  was  well  named.  I  suppose  many  thou- 
149 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

sands  of  years  ago  some  volcano  must  have 
covered  the  ground  with  the  volcanic  stones 
and  lava  which  left  it  so  rough  and  bare. 

Lost  River,  which  is  from  thirty  to  one  hun 
dred  yards  wide,  flows  in  and  out  among  the 
lava  beds  till  it  joins  the  Klamath  River  and 
flows  with  it  to  the  great  Pacific  Ocean.  The 
banks  of  the  Lost  Eiver  are  of  great  shelving 
rocks  rising  a  hundred  feet  in  air  and  beneath 
which  are  immense  caves  with  openings  lead 
ing  to  each  other.  In  some  parts  there  are  a 
few  small  trees  but  no  large  timber,  and  to  our 
way  of  thinking  it  is  a  desolate  country  in 
deed,  but  the  Modocs  liked  it,  especially  the 
clear  lake,  Lost  River,  and  bushy  parts  where 
quail,  partridge,  and  wild  turkey  were  found, 
for  these  Indians  did  not  like  to  raise  corn  as 
white  men  do.  They  dug  up  wild  onions,  lily 
bulbs,  and  camas  plants  to  eat,  and  found 
plenty  of  wild  duck  in  the  clear  lake  and  Tule 
pond. 

150 


Captain  Jack  and  his  companions 


CAPTAIN  JACK,  CHIEF   OF  THE  MODOCS 

In  the  year  1850  there  was  a  general  Indian 
war  in  Oregon  and  northern  California.  The 
white  settlers,  tradesmen,  mechanics,  farmers, 
and  hunters,  and  rough  men  of  the  frontier, 
all  came  together  led  by  a  wild  fellow  called 
Ben  Wright.  Now  Wright  was  not  a  good 
man,  and  he  planned  a  surprise  and  made  a 
dreadful  attack  upon  forty-six  Modoc  Indians 
who  were  quietly  sleeping  in  their  tepees. 
But  five  of  the  Indians  got  away,  and  among 
them  was  one  called  Sconchin.  He  was  only 
seven  years  old  then,  and  almost  all  his 
father 's  family  were  killed. 

This  boy  grew  up  to  hate  the  white  people. 
He  was  a  tall,  handsome  Indian  and  belonged 
to  a  band  of  four  hundred  Modocs.  Their 
chief  was  called  Captain  Jack  by  the  white 
people,  though  his  real  name  was  Modicus. 
This  chief  was  dark  and  brawny,  and  when 
he  said  a  thing  he  would  not  change  his  mind. 
He  called  his  tribe  by  their  true  Indian  name, 
153 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

Maklaks  (the  people),  and  wanted  to  be 
known  by  all  white  men  and  Indians  far  and 
near  as  ' '  The  very  great  all-time  Chieftain. ' ' 
But  he  and  Sconchin  did  not  always  agree,  for 
Sconchin  wanted  to  be  war  chief  and  make 
war  against  the  white  people  all  the  time, 
while  Captain  Jack  liked  peace  best,  though 
he  kept  a  war-bonnet  on  hand  to  use  if  he 
needed  it.  A  war-bonnet,  as  you  know,  is  like 
a  winter  cap  of  red  flannel  worn  well  back  on 
the  head  with  a  mass  of  eagle  and  hawk  feath 
ers  strung  together  and  hanging  down  the 
back  to  the  waist.  This  is  only  for  war  times, 
and  Captain  Jack  kept  one  ready,  but  usually 
he  wore  an  old  soft  gray  hat  with  a  cord 
round  it,  tassels  peeping  over  the  brim,  and  a 
single  eagle  feather  to  show  he  was  chief.  He 
always  carried  a  rifle  and  two  pistols  tucked 
in  his  belt,  but  he  thought  peace  with  the  white 
men  was  best  for  him  and  for  his  people.  He 
was  a  very  strong  man,  too,  but  he  could  not 
154 


CAPTAIN  JACK,  CHIEF  OF  THE  MODOCS 

govern  his  Indians  unless  he  did  about  what 
Sconchin  wanted  him  to  do. 

In  the  year  1866  Mr.  Meacharn,  superin 
tendent  of  Indians  for  Oregon,  sent  word 
north  and  south  to  all  the  Indians  to  come  to 
Fort  Klamath  and  have  a  great  talk.  A  good 
many  Indians  came  and  Mr.  Meacham  thought 
they  really  represented  their  tribes,  but 
neither  Captain  Jack  nor  Sconchin  were 
there.  However,  there  was  a  great  bargain, 
and  the  Indians  agreed  to  take  a  small  sum 
of  money  and  go  and  live  on  the  Klamath 
reservation.  The  Klamath  reservation  where 
they  were  to  go  is  a  lovely  mountain  coun 
try,  only  so  far  above  the  ocean  that  very 
littje  will  grow  in  it.  The  lake  near  by  is 
clear  and  delightful,  with  an  island  in  the 
middle  that  looks  like  an  ocean  steamer,  and 
the  springs  are  cool  and  fresh.  This  was  just 
such  a  place  as  white  people  like  to  go  to  in 
the  summer,  but  for  Indians  no  place  at  all. 
155 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

Captain  Jack  said:  "I  have  n't  sold  our  land 
on  Lost  Kiver  and  I  won't  leave  it";  and 
Sconchin  said:  "Let  us  fight  forever."  But 
after  a  while,  in  1869,  Captain  Jack  said :  ' i  It 
is  better  than  war. ' '  So  with  three  hundred 
men,  women,  and  children  they  moved  the 
fifty  miles  up  to  the  great  Klamath  reserva 
tion.  But  here  something  unexpected  hap 
pened.  The  Klamath  Indians  were  many 
more  than  the  Modocs,  and  they  were  angry 
that  the  Modocs  had  come.  The  women  and 
children  quarreled  and  the  Klamaths  sent 
word  to  the  agent  that  the  Modocs  were  get 
ting  ready  to  go  on  the  war-path.  Then  the 
agent  moved  the  Modocs  two  miles  away,  but 
they  had  hardly  put  up  their  tepees  when  _Jthe 
Klamaths,  Snakes,  and  other  Oregon  Indians 
began  to  bother  them  again. 

At  last  Captain  Jack,  to  avoid  open  war, 
one  night  with  all  his  people  fled  back  to  their 
old  home.    But  here  they  were  not  welcome, 
156 


CAPTAIN  JACK,  CHIEF  OF  THE  MODOCS 

for  the  white  settlers  had  their  land  and  did 
not  want  them  around.  Of  course,  some  white 
people  were  kind  and  knew  the  Indians  told 
the  truth  when  they  said:  "We  have  never 
lost  our  land,  we  cannot  live  in  Oregon,  we 
cannot  hunt  or  fish  on  the  reservation,  nor 
gather  lily  bulbs,  wild  onions,  or  camas 
roots. " 

Good  Mr.  Meacham  finally  agreed  to  give 
them  a  reservation  on  the  Lost  River  and 
Captain  Jack  said:  "We  will  bargain  and 
keep  the  peace. "  But  at  Washington  people 
were  busy  doing  other  things,  and  for  a  long 
time  no  word  came  to  say  Mr.  Meacham  could 
give  this  land  to  the  Modocs.  Captain  Jack's 
heart  was  sick  and  Sconchin  said:  "Mr. 
Meacham  is  like  all  white  men,  double-tongued 
and  does  not  tell  the  truth. ' ' 

At  last  a  new  Indian  agent  was  sent  to  take 
Mr.  Meacham 's  place.  He  believed  the  white 
settlers  who  told  him  that  the  Indians  were 
157 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

bad  and  that  they  must  be  forced  back  to  the 
Klamath  reservation.  So  a  company  of  sol 
diers  tinder  Captain  Jackson  went  to  make 
them  go.  The  Indians  were  living  in  rough 
tepees  or  wigwams  made  of  poles  covered 
with  brushwood.  Some  were  on  the  river 
bank,  some  on  an  island.  Captain  Jackson 
and  Captain  Jack  had  a  talk.  The  Indians 
did  not  want  to  go,  but  their  chief  said  he 
would  rather  go  than  have  war.  Captain 
Jackson  was  trying,  through  the  half-breed 
interpreter,  to  arrange  the  homeward  march, 
when  Scar-Faced  Charlie,  one  of  Sconchin's 
friends,  angry  and  armed  with  a  pistol,  came 
out  of  his  tepee.  Captain  Jackson  ordered  his 
immediate  arrest  by  a  sergeant,  who  also  had 
a  pistol.  The  soldier  and  the  Indian  fired  at 
the  same  instant;  then  other  soldiers  and 
Indians  fired.  At  the  same  time  some  white 
men,  back  on  the  island,  were  shooting  into 
the  Indian  tepees.  Five  soldiers  were  killed 
158 


CAPTAIN  JACK,   CHIEF   OF  THE  MODOCS 

or  wounded  and  as  many  Indians  fell.  Then 
the  Indians,  in  the  confusion,  got  away.  They 
caught  up  everything  and  ran  southward, 
while  Captain  Jackson,  gathering  up  his  dead 
and  wounded,  made  his  way  sorrowfully  and 
slowly  back  to  Fort  Klamath. 

The  young  Indians  in  their  flight  went 
through  a  white  settlement  and  killed  eleven 
white  men  and  boys  who  came  in  their  way, 
but  they  spared  all  the  women  and  the  smaller 
children. 

You  remember  I  told  you  of  the  wonderful 
caves  on  the  banks  of  Lost  River.  To  one  of 
these  Captain  Jack  led  his  band.  From  here 
he  could  see  everything  for  five  miles,  and  this 
cave  led  to  other  caves,  so  that  without  being 
seen  he  could  make  his  way  to  the  water's 
edge.  Captain  Jack  had  not  more  than 
seventy  warriors,  but  they  were  in  that  strong 
place  with  food  enough  for  three  months  for 
his  men  and  for  all  of  his  women  and  children 
159 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

who  were  in  there.  Every  Indian  had  a  rifle 
and  pistols  and  considerable  ammunition. 
Against  them  Colonel  Frank  Wheaton  of  the 
army  led  six  hundred  soldiers.  They  were 
confident  and  ran  briskly  toward  the  strong 
hold,  but  the  Indians  were  ready  and  beat 
back  all  the  six  hundred,  having  slain  thirty- 
five  of  Wheaton 's  men  and  wounded  many 
more.  Colonel  Wheaton  was  astounded.  He 
drew  off  his  soldiers  and  retreated  twenty 
miles.  A  little  later,  however,  the  soldiers 
returned,  bringing  cannon  and  mortars.  The 
mortars  would  throw  a  loaded  shell  high  in 
air  and  drop  it  down  in  Captain  Jack's  fort 
ress;  lodging  in  the  cracks  and  fissures,  the 
fuse  would  keep  burning  till  the  shell,  like  that 
in  blasting  rocks,  would  explode  and  the  frag 
ments  of  iron  fly  in  every  direction.  The 
Indians  at  first  feared  those  "guns  that  fired 
twice  every  time, ' '  but  soon  they  learned  how 
to  protect  themselves. 

160 


"  The  soldier  and  the  Indian  fired  at  the  same  instant" 


CAPTAIN  JACK,  CHIEF  OF  THE  MODOCS 

Then  General  Canby  and  Colonel  Wheaton 
encamped  before  the  cave  with  an  army  of 
soldiers.  Bev.  Mr.  Thomas,  Mr.  Meacham, 
and  some  other  peace-loving  friends  tried  to 
bring  about  a  good  peace.  They  sent  into  the 
stronghold  a  half-breed  interpreter  and  a  con 
ference  was  secured.  Captain  Jack  even  yet 
desired  a  peaceable  settlement,  but  he  did  not 
like  the  offers  made  him  of  a  new  reserve  near 
Lost  Eiver  by  and  by  after  purchases  of  land 
could  be  made,  and  meanwhile  for  the  Modocs 
to  go  down  to  Angel  Island,  near  San  Fran 
cisco,  and  be  provided  for.  Though  Captain 
Jack  appeared  to  favor  this  arrangement  the 
most  of  his  warriors  showed  an  ugly  disposi 
tion,  and,  stirred  up  by  Sconchin,  were  for 
war,  war!  Then  Captain  Jack,  who  had  been 
planning  in  his  mind  a  great  blow,  sent  word 
that  he  and  a  few  of  his  principal  men,  five  in 
all,  would  meet  General  Canby  and  five  of  his 
peace  men  at  a  place  between  Jhe  lines  about 
163 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

a  mile  from  the  soldiers'  camp.  At  the  time 
appointed  they  met,  but  the  Indians  had  pis 
tols  hidden  in  their  clothing,  and  after  a  short 
talk,  when  everything  was  arranged,  Captain 
Jack  cried  out :  "  All  ready, ' '  and  they  fired. 

The  good  general  and  Dr.  Thomas  fell  in 
stantly,  and  Mr.  Meacham  was  badly  wounded, 
but  the  others  escaped,  and  Captain  Jack's 
warriors  drove  back  all  the  soldiers  who  were 
near  enough  for  them  to  reach  with  their 
rifles;  then  they  ran  quickly  back  to  their 
stronghold. 

Now  more  troops  came,  and  little  by  little 
Captain  Jack  saw  his  Indians  grow  less.  The 
soldiers  captured  his  spring  of  water  and  cut 
his  people  off  from  the  lake  till,  in  despera 
tion,  one  night  the  Modocs  without  any  warn 
ing  fled  to  another  cave,  four  miles  away. 

Some  Warm  Spring  Indians,  friendly  to  the 
white  people,  trailed  the  fleeing  Modocs,  and 
after  many  days  and  great  losses  among  the 
164 


CAPTAIN  JACK,  CHIEF  OF  THE  MODOCS 

soldiers  the  desperate  Modocs  had  so  few  war 
riors  left  and  were  so  much  in  want  of  food 
and  water  that  a  part  of  them  came  out,  gave 
themselves  up  and  betrayed  their  leader,  Cap 
tain  Jack.  He  was  the  last  man  taken. 

He,  a  few  weeks  later  by  the  sentence  of  a 
military  commission,  suffered  death  together 
with  a  few  of  his  principal  men. 


165 


X 


ALASKA  INDIAN    CHIEFS  I   FEKNANDESTE,   SITKA 
JACK,  AND  ANAHOOTZ 

ALASKA  means  great  land,  and,  as  you 
-JLjL  can  all  see  on  the  map,  it  is  a  great  land 
far  west  of  Canada  and  north  of  the  United 
States.  It  was  discovered  in  1728  by  Vitus 
Bering,  a  Danish  sailor  in  the  Russian  service, 
and  it  belonged  to  Eussia  till  1867,  when  the 
United  States  bought  it  for  $7,200,000.  This 
country  is  so  very  far  north  that  I  am  sure 
if  I  asked  you  who  lived  there  you  would  say 
that  the  people  must  all  be  Eskimos,  and  you 
are  quite  right,  for  Eskimos  do  live  there,  but 
besides  the  Eskimos  there  are  Indians  who 
166 


ALASKA  INDIAN  CHIEFS 

live  there,  too.  They  are  not  as  wild  and  war 
like  as  the  redmen  further  south,  and  are  so 
willing  to  live  as  white  men  do  that  we  have 
not  needed  to  put  them  on  reservations.  In 
deed,  they  would  have  given  Uncle  Sam  no 
trouble  at  all  but  for  the  bad  traders  who 
would  sell  the  Indians  whisky,  and  no  Indian 
is  much  good  when  he  begins  to  like  "fire 
water"  better  than  anything  else. 

It  was  in  1875  that  one  of  these  Alaskan 
Indian  chiefs,  Fernandeste,  was  seized  by 
some  white  men,  made  prisoner  on  board  a 
steamer,  and  taken  to  Portland,  Oregon. 
Some  of  the  white  men  could  talk  Stickeen, 
the  Indian  language,  and  they  frightened  Fer 
nandeste  so  much  because  he  thought  he 
would  forever  disgrace  his  people  that  he  died 
before  the  ship  reached  land.  Now  the  In 
dians  loved  this  chief  very  much,  and  when 
the  news  came  back  his  family  was  overcome 
with  grief.  All  the  Indians  said  they  must 

9  167 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

make  the  white  men  give  them  a  great  present 
for  this  bad  treatment  of  Fernandeste  or 
they  would  be  cowards,  and  whatever  hap 
pened  his  body  must  be  brought  back  to 
Alaska. 

Now  at  this  time  Uncle  Sam  had  sent  me, 
with  a  portion  of  the  United  States  Army,  to 
take  care  of  the  northwestern  part  of  our 
country,  so  when  I  heard  the  story  of  Fernan 
deste  I  decided  to  go  to  Alaska  and  tell  his 
friends  how  sorry  I  was  and  try  to  make  them 
happy.  It  was  vacation  time,  so  my  wife  and 
children  went  along  for  a  trip. 

From  Tacoma,  on  Puget  Sound,  we  sailed 
to  Victoria,  the  capital  of  British  Columbia, 
and  there  went  on  board  the  steamer  Cali 
fornia  for  Alaska.  What  a  glorious  trip  it 
was,  sailing  between  rough-faced  mountain 
sides,  3000  feet  high,  some  snow-capped,  some 
covered  with  feathery  trees.  Such  a  strange 
country,  too,  for  the  sun  stayed  up  all  night 
168 


Alaska  totem  poles 


ALASKA  INDIAN  CHIEFS 

and  at  ten  o'clock  I  could  read  as  well  as  at 
noon.  My  children  did  n't  want  to  go  to  bed 
at  all,  and  I  remember  what  queer  things  we 
hung  up  at  the  windows  to  darken  the  rooms 
so  the  children  could  sleep. 

At  last  one  morning  we  anchored  in  a  bay 
near  an  island  and  on  that  island  was  an  army 
post  called  Port  Wrangel.  There  was  a  stock 
ade  around  it  made  of  the  trunks  of  trees  fif 
teen  feet  high,  and  there  were  heavy  double 
gates  made  of  logs  fastened  together.  The 
commanding  officer  of  the  fort  and  Kalemste, 
sub-chief  of  the  Wrangel  Indians,  came  to 
meet  us,  and  with  them  we  went  to  the  stock 
ade.  All  the  buildings  of  the  fort  were  inside 
the  stockade,  and  the  officers  and  soldiers  felt 
very  safe  when  the  gates  were  shut.  Now 
some  soldiers  opened  the  gates  for  us  to  pass 
in.  Kalemste  and  two  other  Indians  were  al 
lowed  to  enter,  but  all  the  others  turned  back 
to  their  homes  on  the  other  end  of  the  island. 
171 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

These  Wrangel  Indians  do  not  live  in  tepees 
and  wigwams  as  the  Indians  further  south, 
but  in  long  houses  made  of  immense  planks 
split  from  large  trees.  A  whole  family— chil 
dren,  parents,  grandparents,  uncles,  and 
aunts,  and  even  some  few  friends  live  in  one 
house.  There  is  room  enough  in  the  middle 
on  the  ground  to  build  fires  and  a  small  hole 
in  the  roof  to  let  out  some  of  the  smoke.  But 
the  strangest  things  of  all  were  the  totem 
poles.  In  front  of  each  house  was  a  pole  ten 
to  thirty  feet  high.  Animals  were  carved  on 
the  top  and  sides  of  the  poles,  sometimes  a 
bird,  a  bear,  or  a  fox.  These  totems  are  the 
signs  of  a  tribe  or  family— just  as  we  have  the 
United  States  eagle,  the  English  lion,  the 
Scotch  thistle,  or  French  lily,  but  they  cer 
tainly  do  look  very  funny  standing  in  front  of 
all  the  houses.  One  totem  pole  belonged  to 
the  chief,  Fernandeste,  and  showed  the  tribe 
he  belonged  to  among  the  Stickeen  Indians, 
172 


ALASKA  INDIAN  CHIEFS 

and  the  carvings  gave  a  short  history  of  his 
tribe.  There  were  groves  where  the  Indians 
danced  together,  and  places  where  they 
worked  when  tanning  and  decorating  the  skins 
of  animals,  and  where  the  children  practised 
with  bows  and  arrows,  and  it  was  all  very  dif 
ferent  from  any  Indian  villages  I  had  seen 
before. 

After  we  had  our  lunch  at  the  fort,  chairs 
were  taken  out  in  front  of  the  stockade  and 
the  Indians  gathered  for  a  council.  Kalemste 
stepped  out  in  front  of  the  Indians  while  his 
people  crouched  ready  to  listen.  He  told  us 
the  story  of  Fernandeste  and  how  he  had  been 
invited  on  the  steamer  where  some  dreadful 
white  men,  who  were  prisoners  being  taken 
to  Portland,  Oregon,  for  selling  liquor  to  the 
Indians  at  Wrangel,  kept  with  the  chief  and 
frightened  him  so  greatly  that  he  died;  and 
how  his  people  wanted  a  potlash  or  present,  so 
that  the  other  Indians  would  not  call  them 
173 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

cowards.  I  asked  what  would  satisfy  them 
and  he  replied,  one  hundred  good  blankets, 
only  they  must  have  their  dead  chief  back 
again.  Now  a  good  warning  had  come  to  me 
before  I  started,  and  I  was  ready  with  permis 
sion  from  Uncle  Sam.  At  a  word  the  soldiers 
went  into  the  stockade  and  then  slowly  re 
turned  bearing  the  body  of  Fernandeste  back 
to  those  who  loved  him,  and  a  hundred  army 
blankets  for  the  tribe.  A  sudden  change  came 
over  the  faces  of  the  Indians,  and  taking  the 
body  from  the  soldiers  they  returned  to  their 
homes  satisfied. 

But  Kalemste  and  a  few  of  the  leading  men 
remained  and  asked  if  the  chief  of  the  white 
men  would  stay  long  enough  to  let  him  come 
early  in  the  evening  and  give  us  a  play.  In 
deed,  we  were  all  curious  to  see  an  Indian 
play,  and  as  the  captain  of  the  ship  could  wait 
for  us,  I  said  yes. 

In  the  evening  we  came  together.  The  star- 
174 


ALASKA  INDIAN  CHIEFS 

light  was  very  bright  and  it  was  all  still  ex 
cept  for  the  washing  of  the  sea  on  the  shore. 

The  Indians  came  quietly,  and  without  ado 
built  a  fire  on  the  ground  for  a  big  torch  to 
light  us.  The  men  were  dressed  fantastically, 
no  two  alike,  and  their  arms  and  legs  were 
painted.  They  gave  first  a  dance  of  joy,  which 
lasted  over  an  hour.  Then  they  showed  in  a 
rude  way  without  speaking  a  word,  simply 
by  signs  and  motions,  how  Fernandeste  went 
to  the  steamer,  how  he  died,  the  crossing  of 
the  bar  on  the  Columbia  "River,  how  his  body 
was  buried  and  taken  again  from  the  ground, 
and  the  return  of  it  by  the  steamer  to  Wran- 
gel ;  then  our  coming,  our  lunch  and  the  coun 
cil,  but  all  so  plainly  shown  that  everybody 
knew  what  it  meant  and  clapped  their  hands 
in  applause  for  this  fine  acting. 

Then  Kalemste  begged  me  to  send  them  a 
teacher.  He  said  the  officers  and  soldiers  had 
taught  them  a  little,  but  they  wanted  a  real 
177 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

teacher.  I  promised,  and  the  evening  enter 
tainment  being  over,  we  went  on  board  our 
steamer  and  were  soon  sound  asleep  while  the 
captain  and  crew  watched  and  took  us  swiftly 
northward  to  Sitka. 

When  Alaska  belonged  to  Russia  they  called 
Sitka  New  Arkangel,  after  a  city  in  Russia, 
but  we  have  called  it  by  the  Indian  name 
Sitka.  There  were  two  bands  of  Indians 
here,  one  under  Sitka  Jack,  the  other  under 
Anahootz.  Anahootz  came  to  see  me  in  a 
soldier's  coat  and  hat  with  a  bright  hand 
kerchief  about  it.  My  boys  were  much 
amused  at  his  appearance,  but  he  was  as  dig 
nified  as  a  king,  and  presented  to  me  a  num 
ber  of  well-folded  sheets  of  paper  on  each  of 
which  was  the  statement  that  Anahootz  was 
a  good  Indian,  a  friend  of  the  white  men  and 
the  Indians,  and  told  the  truth.  I  went  to  see 
him  in  his  home  and  he  sat  on  a  bench  and 
gave  me  his  only  arm-chair.  He  told  me  he 
178 


ALASKA  INDIAN  CHIEFS 

had  thought  much  and  spent  many  a  night 
wide  awake  thinking  what  would  be  good  for 
the  Indians.  Now  he  understood.  He  wanted 
peace  between  white  men  and  Indians,  under 
a  good  commander  such  as  Major  Campbell, 
the  military  governor.  I  told  him  his  people 
seemed  poor,  but  I  thought  if  they  would 
make  baskets  and  belts  and  moccasins  visitors 
would  buy  them.  This  pleased  him,  but  he 
told  me  that  most  of  all  he  wanted  me  to 
promise  to  send  a  teacher  to  them;  that  if  I 
sent  a  good  teacher  his  Indians  would  build  a 
house,  better  than  his  own,  for  him.  Of  course 
I  promised,  and  once  more  we  boarded  the 
California  and  started  north  to  the  mouth  of 
Chilcat  Creek. 

The  Chilcat  Indians  lived  much  like  those 
at  Sitka  and  Wrangel,  but  they  had  seen  few 
white  men.  Here  we  found  a  stone  four  or 
five  feet  long  and  three  feet  thick,  which  the 
Indians  said  came  from  the  moon.  I  suppose 
179 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

it  was  a  meteorite,  but  the  Indians  said  a 
great  white  man  had  asked  them  to  protect 
and  keep  it  till  he  came  again,  which  they 
were  glad  to  do. 

Just  as  we  were  returning  to  the  steamer 
we  met  Sitka  Jack.  He  was  the  most  famous 
chieftain  in  this  region.  Now  he  was  in  a 
long  canoe  filled  with  men,  every  man  having 
a  paddle  in  his  hand,  and  eight  or  ten  on  each 
side.  Sitka  Jack  with  eagle  feathers  in  his 
hat  and  a  belt  crammed  full  of  pistols  round 
his  waist  sat  in  the  stern  steering,  a  small 
United  States  flag  in  his  hand.  He  was  a  very 
bright  man,  and  after  a  little  encouragement 
we  had  a  good  talk  together.  He  told  me  that 
not  many  miles  inland,  if  you  went  through 
Sitka  Pass  northward,  there  was  a  good  level 
country  where  everything  would  grow  and 
where  there  were  very  many  people. 

This  was  long  ago,  but  since  then  many  of 
our  people  have  found  their  way  to  this  great 
180 


A  medicine-man  of  the  Chilcat  Indians 


ALASKA  INDIAN  CHIEFS 

land  of  Alaska  and  have  given  riches  to  the 
United  States  in  gold  found  in  the  Klondike 
and  Yukon  country.  Men  and  women  have 
taken  the  long  journey  to  teach  the  Indian 
children,  and  under  the  shadow  of  the  totem 
poles  now  are  many  men  arid  women  who 
were  boys  and  girls  when  I  first  went  to 
Alaska  to  tell  those  Indians  that  Uncle  Sam 
was  their  friend. 


183 


XI 


THE  GREAT  WAR  CHIEF  JOSEPH  OF  THE  NEZ  PER- 

CES,  AND  HIS  LIEUTENANTS,  WHITE  BIRD  AND 

LOOKING-GLASS 

FAR  in  the  Northwest  of  our  country  live 
the  Chopunnish  or  Nez  Perce  Indians, 
a  powerful  tribe. 

Chopunnish  is  an  Indian  word,  but  Nez 
Perce  is  French  and  means  pierced  noses. 
The  name  comes  from  the  fact  that  these  In 
dians  used  to  pierce  their  noses  and  wear 
rings  in  them,  just  as  some  ladies  we  know 
pierce  their  ears  and  wear  fine  earrings. 

The  men  of  the  tribe  are  large  and  tall  and 

strong,  and  they  are  very  proud  and  warlike. 

Every  year  they  went  far  away,  even  one 

thousand  miles,  to  hunt  buffalo,  while  the 

184 


CHIEF  JOSEPH  OF  THE  NEZ  PERCYS 
women  planted  little  patches  of  Indian  corn 
and  the  boys  rode  ponies  or  fished  for  salmon 
in  the  rivers.  Now  and  then  the  Nez  Perces 
fought,  as  all  Indians  do,  and  their  enemies 
were  especially  the  Blackfeet  and  Snakes, 
but  they  never  killed  a  white  man.  Governor 
Stevens,  one  of  the  first  white  governors, 
gave  these  Indians  a  large  tract  of  land  big 
ger  than  New  York  State,  where  they  lived 
and  were  very  happy.  After  a  while  some 
missionaries  came  to  live  among  them  and 
started  a  big  school  where  many  Indian  chil 
dren  studied  and  learned  the  white  men's 
ways.  Among  these  Indian  children  were  two 
boys,  the  sons  of  a  powerful  chief  called 
Old  Joseph.  Young  Joseph  and  Ollicut  went 
to  the  school  for  a  short  time,  but  while  they 
were  still  very  small  their  father  became  an 
gry  with  another  chief  and  moved  off  to 
Wallowa,  a  place  far  away  on  the  Nez  Perce 
reservation. 

185 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

Then  the  white  people  began  to  see  that  this 
country  was  a  good  place  to  live  in,  and  they 
asked  Uncle  Sam  to  give  them  some  of  it. 
Most  of  the  Indians  agreed  to  sell  part  of  their 
big  reservation  and  live  on  a  part  called  the 
Lapwai  lands,  or  reservation,  but  after  this 
was  arranged  it  was  found  that  several  bands 
of  Nez  Perces  lived  outside  of  this  smaller 
reservation— the  White  Birds  under  their 
leader,  White  Bird;  other  Indians  under  a 
chief  called  Looking-Glass ;  several  other 
bands,  and  some  Indians  led  by  Young  Jo 
seph,  who  had  become  their  chief  after  Old 
Joseph  died.  These  many  bands  of  Nez 
Perces  came  together  and  made  Young  Jo 
seph  their  chief.  They  said  that  the  other 
Nez  Perces  had  no  right  to  sell  their  land,  and 
that  they  did  not  wish  to  leave  their  homes. 

In  April,  1877,  I  took  some  soldiers  and 
went  to  a  fort  near  Walla  Walla,  Washington, 
many  miles  south  of  Fort  Lapwai.  Here  I  met 
186 


Chief  Joseph  in  full  costume 


CHIEF  JOSEPH  OF  THE  NEZ  PERCES 

Ollicut,  who  came  to  represent  his  brother, 
who  was  sick.  At  his  request  I  agreed 
to  meet  Joseph  and  his  friends  or  Tillicums 
in  twelve  days  at  Lapwai,  Idaho,  and  we  all 
hoped  that  the  meeting  would  result  in  a 
good  peace.  When  I  arrived  at  Fort  Lapwai 
twelve  days  later  an  immense  tent  was  ready 
for  the  council.  Joseph,  with  about  fifty  In 
dians,  had  spent  the  night  near  by  in  hand 
some  Indian  lodges.  His  many  ponies, 
watched  by  Indian  lads,  were  feeding  on  the 
banks  of  Lapwai  Creek.  All  was  excitement, 
as  with  some  officers  I  waited  for  the  Indians 
to  come  that  sunny  morning  to  the  "big  , 
talk."  At  last  they  came,  riding  slowly  up 
the  grassy  valley,  a  long  rank  of  men,  all  on 
ponies,  followed  by  the  women  and  children.  » 
Joseph  and  Ollicut  rode  side  by  side.  The 
faces  of  all  the  Indians  were  painted  bright 
red,  the  paint  covering  the  partings  of  the 
hair,  the  braids  of  the  warriors'  hair  tied 
189 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

with  strips  of  white  and  scarlet.  No  weapons 
were  in  sight  except  tomahawk-pipes  and 
sheath-knives  in  their  belts.  Everything  was 
ornamented  with  beads.  The  women  wore 
bright-colored  shawls  and  skirts  of  cotton  to 
the  top  of  their  moccasins. 

They  all  came  up  and  formed  a  line  facing 
our  square  inclosure ;  then  they  began  a  song. 
The  song  was  wild  and  shrill  and  fierce,  yet  so 
plaintive  at  times  it  was  almost  like  weeping, 
and  made  us  sorry  for  them,  although  we 
could  not  but  be  glad  that  there  were  not  five 
hundred  instead  of  fifty. 

They  turned  off  to  the  right  and  swept 
around  outside  our  fence,  keeping  up  the 
strange  song  all  the  way  around  the  fort, 
where  it  broke  up  into  irregular  bubblings 
like  mountain  streams  tumbling  over  stones. 

Then  the  women  and  children  rode  away  at 
a  gallop  and  the  braves,  leaving  their  ponies, 
came  in  all  in  a  single  file  with  Joseph  ahead. 
190 


CHIEF  JOSEPH  OF  THE  XEZ  PERCES 

They  passed  us  each  one  formally  shaking 
hands,  and  then  we  all  sat  down  in  the  big 
tent.  After  a  prayer  I  spoke  to  Joseph  and 
told  him  that  his  brother  Ollicut  had  said  to 
me  twelve  days  ago  in  Walla  Walla  that  he 
wished  to  see  me — now  I  was  ready  to  listen 
to  what  he  wished  to  say.  Joseph  then  said 
that  White  Bird's  Indians  were  coming;  they 
were  to  be  here  soon  and  we  must  not  be  in  a 
hurry,  but  wait  for  them.  So  we  put  off  the 
"big  talk"  till  the  next  day. 

Again  the  Indians  went  through  the  same 
performance  and  again  we  were  ready. 
White  Bird  had  arrived  and  with  a  white 
eagle  wing  in  his  hand  sat  beside  Joseph. 
Joseph  introduced  him  to  me,  saying:  "This 
is  White  Bird;  it  is  the  first  time  he  has  seen 
you."  There  was  also  an  old  chief,  Too-hul- 
hul-sote,  who  hated  white  men.  When  they 
were  seated  again  I  told  them  that  the  Presi 
dent  wanted  them  all  to  come  up  to  Lapwai, 
10  191 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

—to  the  part  where  nobody  lived,  and  take 
up  the  vacant  reservation,  for  the  other  lands 
had  been  given  to  the  white  men. 

Joseph  said : ' '  Too-hul-hul-sote  will  speak. ' ' 
The  old  man  was  very  angry  and  said: 
"What  person  pretends  to  divide  the  land 
and  put  me  on  it?"  I  answered:  "I  am  the 
man. ' '  Then  among  the  Indians  all  about  me 
signs  of  anger  began  to  appear.  Looking- 
Glass  dropped  his  gentle  style  and  made 
rough  answers;  White  Bird,  hiding  his  face 
behind  that  eagle  wing,  said  he  had  not  been 
brought  up  to  be  governed  by  white  men,  and 
Joseph  began  to  finger  his  tomahawk  and  his 
eyes  flashed.  Too-hul-hul-sote  said  fiercely: 
"The  Indians  may  do  as  they  like,  I  am  not 
going  on  that  land. ' ' 

Then  I  spoke  to  them.    I  told  them  I  was 
going  to  look  at  the  vacant  land  and  they 
should  come  with  me.    The  old  man,  Too-hul- 
hul-sote,  should  stay  at  the  fort  with  the  col- 
192 


CHIEF  JOSEPH  OF  THE  NEZ  PERCES 

onel  till  we  came  back.  He  arose  and  cried: 
"Do  you  want  to  frighten  me  about  my 
body  ? ' '  But  I  said : ' '  I  will  leave  you  with  the 
colonel,"  and  at  a  word  a  soldier  led  the 
brave  old  fellow  out  of  the  tent  and  gave  him 
to  a  guard. 

Then  Joseph  quieted  the  Indians  and 
agreed  to  go  with  me.  We  did  not  hasten  our 
ride,  but  started  after  a  few  days.  We  then 
rode  over  forty  miles  together.  Once  Joseph 
said  to  me :  ' i  If  we  come  and  live  here  what 
will  you  give  us— schools,  teachers,  houses, 
churches,  and  gardens?"  I  said,  "Yes." 
"Well!"  said  Joseph,  "those  are  just  the 
things  we  do  not  want.  The  earth  is  our 
mother,  and  do  you  think  we  want  to  dig  and 
break  it?  No,  indeed!  We  want  to  hunt  buf 
falo  and  fish  for  salmon,  not  plow  and  use  the 
hoe." 

"Yours  is  a  strange  answer,"  I  said. 
After  riding  all  over  the  country  the  Indi- 
193 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

ans  called  it  a  good  country,  and  they  agreed 
to  come  and  live  there.  The  land  was  staked 
out,  and  Too-hul-hul-sote  set  free,  and  it  was 
arranged  that  in  thirty  days  all  the  outside 
Indians  should  be  on  the  reservation,  and  we 
parted  the  best  of  friends. 

Now,  about  this  time  Joseph's  wife  was 
taken  sick,  so  he  left  his  band  and  stayed 
away  some  distance  with  her  in  his  lodge. 
While  he  was  away  some  of  the  young  warri 
ors  came  to  a  farm-house  and  began  to  talk 
with  two  white  men.  For  some  reason  they 
did  not  agree,  and  a  young  Indian  tried  to 
take  a  gun  out  of  the  farmer 's  hand.  At  once 
the  farmer  was  frightened  and  called  to  the 
other  white  man  for  help.  That  white  man 
ran  up  and  began  to  shoot,  killing  the  Indian. 
Now  began  all  sorts  of  trouble.  The  Indians 
stole  horses,  burned  houses,  robbed  travelers, 
and  the  whole  country  was  wild  with  terror. 

Joseph  at  first  did  not  know  what  to  do,  but 
194 


i  .  ! 


A  portrait  of  Chief  Joseph  on  birch  bark 


General  Howard  and  his  good  friend,  Chief  Joseph 


CHIEF  JOSEPH  OF  THE  NEZ  PERCES 

at  last  he  broke  his  agreement  with  me  and  all 
the  outside  Indians  went  on  the  war-path. 
For  many  months  there  were  battles — battles 
—battles!  Joseph  was  a  splendid  warrior, 
and  with  many  of  Uncle  Sam's  good  soldiers 
he  fought.  I  followed  him  for  over  fourteen 
hundred  miles,  over  mountains  and  valleys, 
always  trying  to  make  him  give  up.  At  the 
last  I  sent  two  Nez  Perce  friends,  "  Captain 
John"  and  "Indian  George"  to  Chief  Jo 
seph's  strong  place  in  the  Little  Eockies  with 
a  white  flag  to  ask  him  to  give  up. 

Joseph  sent  back  word:  "I  have  done  all  I 
can;  I  now  trust  my  people  and  myself  to 
your  mercy. ' ' 

So  the  surrender  was  arranged,  and  just 
before  night  on  October  5,  1877,  Joseph,  fol 
lowed  by  his  people,  many  of  whom  were  lame 
and  wounded,  came  up  to  me  and  offered  his 
rifle. 

Beside  me  stood  General  N.  A.  Miles,  who 
197 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

had  helped  me  and  fought  the  last  battle,  and 
so  I  told  Joseph  that  he,  General  Miles,  would 
take  the  rifle  for  me. 

Thus  ended  the  great  Nez  Perce  War,  and 
Joseph  went  after  a  time  to  live  with  Moses, 
another  chief  of  whom  I  will  tell  you  some 
day. 

Twenty-seven  years  later  I  met  Chief  Jo 
seph,  the  greatest  Indian  warrior  I  ever  fought 
with,  at  the  Carlisle  Indian  School,  and  there 
he  made  a  speech : l '  For  a  long  time, ' '  he  said, 
' '  I  did  want  to  kill  General  Howard,  but  now 
I  am  glad  to  meet  him  and  we  are  friends ! ' ' 


198 


XII 

MOSES,  A  GREAT  WAR  CHIEF  WHO  KNEW  WHEN 
NOT   TO   FIGHT 

IN  the  Northwest  of  our  great  country  there 
are  so  many  different  tribes  of  Indians 
that  I  cannot  begin  to  tell  you  their  names, 
but  they  were  often  divided  in  this  way :  Those 
who  lived  on  reservations  were  called  '  *  Reser 
vation  Indians ' '  and  those  who  did  not,  * '  Out 
side  Indians."  Now,  Moses  was  chief  of  a 
great  many  tribes  of  Outside  Indians  and  he 
was  a  very  great  chief.  Of  course,  Moses  was 
not  his  Indian  name,  but  Governor  Stevens 
gave  it  to  him  long  ago  and  every  one  called 
him  so ;  indeed,  he  seemed  to  have  forgotten 
his  Indian  name  and  called  himself  Moses. 
199 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 
He  was  a  very  handsome  man,  tall  and 
straight,  and  always  well  dressed.  He  usu 
ally  wore  a  buckskin  coat  and  trousers,  and 
handsome  beaded  moccasins,  and  a  broad, 
light  felt  hat  with  a  thin  veil  encircling  it.  He 
always  had  a  leather  belt  around  his  waist,  in 
which  he  carried  a  long  knife  and  pistol  hol 
ster,  the  ivory  pistol  knob  in  plain  sight. 

Now,  Moses  had  led  his  Indians  in  many 
battles,  both  against  Indians  and  white  men, 
and  everybody  knew  that  he  was  a  brave  war 
rior  and  could  fight.  Indeed,  in  1858  one  of 
the  very  fiercest  battles  we  ever  had  with  the 
Indians  took  place  when  Moses  was  the  In 
dian  war  chief  and  General  George  Wright 
commanded  the  United  States  soldiers  at  the 
"Battle  of  Yakima  Eiver."  But  after  Mr. 
Wilbur  became  the  Indian  Agent  things 
changed,  for  the  Indians  loved  him  and  called 
him  Father  Wilbur,  and  Moses  decided  not 
to  fight  the  white  men  any  more. 
200 


MOSES,  A  GREAT  WAR  CHIEF 

Many  times  Moses  was  asked  to  go  on  a 
reservation,  but  he  always  replied  that  he 
would  live  on  a  reservation,  but  not  with  In 
dians  he  did  not  know.  Many  tribes  had 
asked  him  to  be  their  chief,  and  he  wanted 
'  *  Washington ' '  to  give  him  the  land  in  a  bend 
of  the  Columbia  River  for  a  reservation.  It 
was  waste  land,  he  said,  where  no  white  peo 
ple  wanted  to  live,  but  the  Indians  would  be 
happy  there,  he  knew.  When  Chief  Joseph  led 
the  Nez  Perces  against  us  in  the  many  bat 
tles  I  have  told  you  about,  he  often  sent  to 
Moses  to  ask  him  to  come  and  fight,  too,  but 
Moses  always  said,  * l  No. ' '  Still  this  chief  did 
not  have  an  easy  time,  for  many  people  said 
he  was  a  bad  Indian,  and  at  last  he  wrote  me 
a  letter  which  I  have  kept  many  years  and 
which  I  am  sure  you  would  like  to  see. 

I  Moses  Chief  want  you  to  know  what  my  turn- 
turn  is  in  regard  to  my  tribes  and  the  white  people. 
Almost  every  day  there  come  to  me  reports  that  the 
201 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

soldiers  from  Walla  Walla  are  coming  to  take  me 
away  from  this  part  of  the  country.  My  people 
are  constantly  excited  and  I  want  to  know  from 
you  the  truth  so  I  can  tell  my  people  and  have 
everything  quiet  once  more  among  us.  Since  the 
last  war  we  have  had  up  here  reports  that  I  Moses 
am  going  to  fight  if  the  soldiers  come ;  this  makes 
my  heart  sick.  I  have  said  I  will  not  fight  and  I 
say  to  you  again  I  will  not  fight  and  when  you  hear 

,  the  whites  say  Moses  will  fight,  you  tell  them  no. 

\  I  have  always  lived  here  upon  the  Columbia  River. 

1 1  am  getting  old  and  I  do  not  want  to  see  my  blood 
shed  on  my  part  of  the  country.  Chief  Joseph 
wanted  me  and  my  people  to  help  him.  His  offers 
were  numerous.  I  told  him  no — never.  I  watched 
my  people  faithfully  during  his  war  and  kept  them 
at  home.  I  told  them  all  when  the  war  broke  out 
that  they  should  not  steal ;  if  any  of  them  did  I 
would  report  them  to  Father  Wilbur.  During  all 
the  past  year  I  have  not  allowed  any  stranger 
Indians  to  come  here  fearing  they  wrould  raise  all 
excitement  with  my  Indians.  I  am  not  a  squaw—I 
know  how  to  fight,  but  I  tell  you  the  truth.  I  do 
not  want  to  fight  and  have  always  told  my  people 
so.  It  is  about  time  to  begin  our  spring  work  as 
we  all  raise  lots  of  vegetables  and  wheat  and  corn 
and  trade  with  Chinamen  and  get  money. 

I  wish  you  would  write  me  and  tell  me  the  truth 
so  I  can  tell  my  people  so  they  will  be  contented 

202 


MOSES,  A  GREAT  WAR  CHIEF 

once  more  and  go  to  work  in  their  gardens.  I  do 
not  want  to  go  on  the  Yakima  reservation  as  I  told 
Colonel  Watkins  last  summer.  I  wish  to  stay  where 
I  have  always  lived  and  where  my  parents  died. 
I  wish  you  would  write  to  me  and  send  by  the 
bearer  of  this  letter.  And  be  sure  I  am  a  friend 
and  tell  you  the  truth. 

HIS 

Signed:  MOSES     X     Chief. 
MARK 

I  replied  that  the  Bannock  Indians  were 
giving  me  much  trouble,  but  that  when  I  got 
back  I  would  arrange  a  meeting.  In  the  mean 
time  I  would  depend  on  him  to  keep  peace. 

Now,  during  this  time  it  was  hard  for 
Moses,  for  two  sets  of  Indians  gave  him  trou 
ble.  The  "Dreamers,"  led  by  Smoholly,  tried 
to  make  Moses  think  that  he  should  join  many 
tribes  and  fight  the  white  men,  for,  said  they, 
all  the  Indians  who  have  gone  to  the  happy 
hunting-lands  will  rise  from  the  dead  before 
long  and  join  us,  so  you  must  join,  too.  But 
Moses  would  not  fight.  Then  some  of  those 
203 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

Indians  who  were  fighting  crossed  over  the 
Columbia  River  and,  finding  a  family  by  the 
name  of  Perkins  living  far  from  any  settle 
ment,  killed  every  member  of  the  family  and 
burned  their  house  and  barn. 

Some  Indians  told  the  white  men  that 
Moses  was  a  friend  of  these  dreadful  warri 
ors  and  was  protecting  them.  The  white  peo 
ple  of  Yakima  City  believed  these  idle  tales 
and  even  accused  Moses  to  me,  but  when  I 
met  him  and  we  talked  it  over,  he  said  that  he 
would  prove  that  what  he  said  was  true,  for 
he  would  help  find  the  three  Cayuses  Indians 
who  had  done  this  wrong  and  give  them  up  to 
the  Yakima  Courts. 

Always  true  to  his  word,  he  took  with  him 
thirty-five  Indians  and  began  to  hunt.  One 
evening  Moses  and  his  band  camped  for  the 
night,  and  fearing  no  harm,  were  fast  asleep, 
when  a  large  body  of  white  men  surrounded 
them.  These  men  seized  Moses  and  bound 
204 


MOSES,  A  GREAT  WAR  CHIEF 

him  with  cords,  putting  irons  on  his  wrists, 
but  still  he  would  not  fight  and  told  all  his  In 
dians  to  point  their  rifles  to  the  ground  and 
offer  no  resistance.  He  said  afterward  that 
he  gave  up  his  pistol,  knife,  and  gun  and  pre 
pared  to  die,  but  instead  he  was  taken  to  Ya- 
kima  City  and  put  in  the  jail  or  "Skookum 
House,"  as  the  Indians  call  it.  Here  Mr.  Wil 
bur  promised  enough  money  to  make  them 
take  off  the  irons,  but  still  Moses  was  a  pris 
oner.  Then  he  said:  "Let  the  one-armed 
soldier-chief  (General  Howard)  know  I  am  a 
prisoner:  He  is  my  friend  and  as  soon  as  he 
knows  it  he  will  set  me  free."  And  this  he 
constantly  repeated.  I  was  far  away  when 
the  news  reached  me,  but  I  came  immediately 
and  ordered  that  Moses  be  at  once  set  at  lib 
erty,  and  I  have  never  been  sorry  that  I  did 
so,  for  he  was  a  true  friend  to  the  good  white 
people,  and  by  his  simple  word  kept  many 
hundred  Indians  at  peace. 
205 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

When  he  was  free  Moses  asked  again  for  a 
reservation,  and  at  last  it  was  given  to  him 
and  to  his  people.  There  on  the  banks  of  the 
Columbia  River  he  kept  his  people  at  peace 
and  had  them  work  farms  and  gardens. 

The  last  time  I  saw  him  he  visited  me  at 
Vancouver  Barracks  near  Portland,  Oregon, 
when,  with  many  chiefs,  he  was  on  his  way 
to  Washington  to  visit  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  He  was  a  brave  war  chief  and 
not  afraid  to  fight,  though  he  had  learned  to 
know  that  peace  is  best. 


206 


XIII 

WINNEMUCCA,    CHIEF    OF    THE    PIUTES 

LKE  the  great  Montezuma  of  old  Mexico, 
Chief  Winnemucca,  who  was  born  and 
lived  the  most  of  his  life  beside  Pyramid 
Lake,  Nevada,  had  a  thinking  mind  and  a 
large,  warm  heart.  He  was  chief  of  an  Indian 
nation  called  the  "Piutes,"  and  before  any 
white  men  came  over  the  Rocky  Mountains  to 
disturb  them,  there  were  several  thousand 
Indians,  to  whom  he  was  like  a  father.  He 
saw  to  it  that  they  had  plenty  of  good  food  to 
eat,  nice  furs  and  skins  to  wear,  and  hand 
some  tepees  (or  wigwams)  for  their  families 
to  live  in.  He  had  a  good  wife  and  many  chil 
dren  of  his  own ;  he  was  always  very  kind  to 
them,  and  took  much  pains  to  teach  all  he 
207 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

himself  knew  to  his  eldest  son,  who  was  to  be 
Chief  Winnemucca  after  him. 

Seventy  years  ago  the  Piutes  were  a  peace- 
loving  and  contented  people.  They  knew  how 
to  gather  in  the  swift  antelopes  from  the 
plains,  how  to  catch  the  deer  and  ensnare  the 
wild  turkeys,  and  help  themselves  to  all  the 
game  of  the  mountains  round  about  their 
broad  valley  and  clear  lake  in  which  they 
caught  splendid  speckled  trout  and  other 
choice  fish.  The  Piutes  never  appeared  to  be 
as  shrewd  and  smart  as  the  Snake  Indians, 
and  they  were  not  warlike;  yet  with  their 
bows  and  arrows  they  did  drive  off  the  thieves 
that  came  from  their  Indian  neighbors,  some 
times,  to  hunt  in  the  mountains  or  fish  in  the 
lake. 

Chief  Winnemucca  taught  the  Piutes  very 

different  lessons  from  other  Indian  chiefs; 

for  example,  to  love  peace  and  make  constant 

effort  to  keep  it;  always  to  be  kind  one  to 

208 


WIXNEMUCCA,  CHIEF  OF  THE  PIUTES 

another;  always  to  tell  the  truth,  and  never 
to  take  for  one's  self  what  belonged  to  an 
other  ;  to  treat  old  people  with  tender  regard ; 
to  care  for  and  help  the  helpless ;  to  be  affec 
tionate  in  families  and  show  real  respect  to 
women,  particularly  to  mothers;  yet  he  and 
his  Piutes  had  no  books,  no  writing,  no  chairs, 
no  furniture,  almost  none  of  those  common 
articles  that  make  our  houses  so  comfortable. 
Chief  Winnemucca,  from  time  to  time,  had 
wonderful  dreams.  One  night  he  dreamed 
that  some  people  who  were  different  from  the 
red  men,  would  by  and  by  come  from  the 
east ;  that  they  would  be  finer  people  than  any 
he  had  ever  seen,  and  that  their  faces  would 
be  of  a  white  color,  bright  and  beautiful.  He 
stretched  out  his  hands  toward  them  and 
said :  '  *  My  white  brothers ! ' ' 

Some    time  before    the    great    explorers, 
Lewis  and  Clark,  crossed  the  plains  and  saw 
Chief  Winnemucca 's  valley,  a  company  of 
11  209 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

hunters  from  Canada  came.  They  were 
usually  named  Voyageurs,  and  were  try 
ing  to  collect  precious  furs.  They  hunted  and 
trapped  the  beavers  and  foxes  or  bought 
skins  from  the  Indians.  Then  these  voya- 
geurs  would  carry  the  furs  to  the  nearest 
trading  places  and  sell  them  at  a  good  price  to 
white  traders. 

One  day  a  party  of  these  voyageurs  came 
to  a  high  plateau  and,  sitting  on  their  hardy 
ponies,  looked  for  the  first  time  on  Pyramid 
Lake.  They  were  taking  in  the  beauty  of  the 
scene  when  suddenly  a  few  Indians,  riding 
furiously  toward  them,  halted  suddenly,  and 
one  Indian  rode  forward,  making  signs  of 
good-will  as  he  approached.  But  the  hunters 
were  frightened  and  caught  up  their  guns, 
though  they  did  not  fire.  At  this  the  Indian 
hurried  away,  joined  the  other s,  and  they  all 
dashed  into  the  woods  and  rode  as  fast  as  they 
could  straight  to  Chief  Winnemucca's  wig- 
210 


WINNEMUCCA,  CHIEF  OF  THE  PIUTES 

warn.  As  soon  as  tlie  venturesome  Piute, 
much  excited,  had  told  all  he  knew  about  the 
appearance  of  strangers  up  there  on  the  east 
ern  plateau,  asserting  that  they  were  well 
mounted  on  large  ponies,  that  they  were 
curiously  dressed,  and  that  they  surely  had 
white  faces,  Winnemucca  cried  out -with  joy: 
' t  They  are  my  white  brothers  ! ' '  and  after  a 
few  moments  added:  "I  knew  you  would 
come;  you  are  the  white  brothers  of  my 
dream. ' ' 

Chief  Winnemucca  hastened  with  twenty  of 
his  Indians  to  meet  the  traders.  All  the  Indi 
ans  were  mounted  on  little  ponies  adorned  with 
cedar  sprigs  and  some  bright  flowers  fastened 
to  their  manes  and  tails.  The  Indians  were 
afraid  and  kept  close  together,  but  the  chief 
was  happy  and  rode  boldly  ahead  to  meet  his 
white  brothers.  Now  the  voyageurs  were  full 
of  fear  and,  firing  their  guns  in  the  air,  mo 
tioned  for  the  Piutes  to  stop.  These  un- 
211 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

friendly  signs  startled  Winnemucca.  His 
heart  bled  as  lie  saw  his  men  hanging  back  in 
terror;  but  he  could  not  forget  his  beautiful 
dream,  so  for  a  while  he  tried  to  draw,  nearer 
the  strangers.  They  shouted  angrily  at  him ; 
but  he  got  down  from  his  saddle  fifty  or  sixty 
yards  away,  put  his  strong  bow  and  quiver  of 
arrows  on  the  ground,  and  spread  out  his 
arms  as  a  sign  of  peace;  but  the  white  men, 
believing  him  and  his  followers  to  be  treach 
erous  because  they  were  wild  Indians,  would 
not  let  them  come  any  closer.  Now  Chief 
Winnemucca  had  heard  about  some  powder 
guns  which  warlike  Indians  had  and  he  in 
stinctively  recognized  these  white  men's  rifles 
as  weapons  of  war.  Greatly  disappointed,  he 
and  his  party  rode  back  to  their  pretty  vil 
lage,  and  next  morning  the  voyageurs  passed 
on  westward.  The  Piutes  never  saw  them 
again. 

It  was  not  very  long  after  this  visit  when 
212 


He  spread  out  his  arms  as   a  sign  of  peace 


WINNEMUCCA,  CHIEF  OF  THE  PIUTES 

another  party  of  about  fifty  white  men  de 
scended  from  the  same  plateau  and  encamped 
two  miles  below  Pyramid  Lake  on  the  bank 
of  a  swift  running  river. 

Again  the  good  chief  went  down  as  he  had 
done  before  and  tried  his  best  by  peace  signs 
to  welcome  the  strangers,  but  they  would  not 
let  an  Indian  approach  them.  They  even 
fired  from  loaded  rifles  to  frighten  the  Piutes 
away.  This  time  the  Indians  saw  where  the 
bullets  struck  the  trees  and  bushes.  But  Win- 
nemucca,  after  the  white  men  had  gone,  re 
flected  upon  the  cause  of  the  white  brothers' 

\ 

fear  of  them.     So  he  said:  "I  will  not  give 
them  up,  I  will  show  them  a  brother 's  heart. ' ' 
He  took  a  few  of  his  principal  men  and  had 
them  bring  with  them  their  women  and  chil 
dren.    They  followed  the  white  men  several 
days  and  encamped  every  night  in  plain  sight. 
At  last  the  white  leader,  prompted  by  his 
guide  who  knew  something  of  Indian  ways, 
215 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

decided  that  the  Piutes  meant  them  no  harm. 
Little  by  little  they  talked  by  signs.  The  In 
dians  showed  them  how  to  avoid  bad  trails 
and  made  some  short  cuts  in  their  journey 
and  always  led  them  to  the  finest  camping 
places  where  they  could  have  plenty  of  wood 
and  good  water.  Every  night  they  brought 
them  a  deer  or  an  antelope.  The  leader  of 
the  white  people  was  a  generous  and  good 
man,  so  he  and  Chief  Winnemucca  soon  be 
came  friends.  After  this  success,  which  de 
lighted  his  heart,  the  chief  and  his  followers 
returned  to  their  home  on  Pyramid  Lake. 

The  next  company  of  white  people  going 
toward  California  were  more  numerous. 
With  them  was  the  American  pathfinder, 
Capt.  John  C.  Fremont,  and  he  and  Winne 
mucca  communicated  right  away.  They  first 
met  where  the  Union  Pacific  Railway  now 
crosses  the  Truckee  Eiver— called  by  the 
Piute  Indians  Truckee  because  it  means  "all 
216 


WINNEMUCCA,  CHIEF  OF  THE  PIUTES 

\ 
right. "    Fremont  took  a  particular  liking  to 

the  warm-hearted  chief,  and  he  asked  him  to 
lead  a  party  of  Piute  scouts.  The  scouts  con 
sisted  of  the  chief  and  eleven  picked  Indian  ; 
men,  and  from  that  time  Winnemucca  was  I 
called  Captain  Truckee  or  Ail-Right.  With 
Fremont,  these  Indians  went  all  the  way  to 
California,  and  helped  him  while  there  in  his 
contests  with  the  Mexicans.  They  learned 
after  a  fashion  to  speak  English,  and  Winne 
mucca  could  always  make  an  American  un 
derstand  him.  He  was  proud  of  his  English, 
but  prouder  of  a  piece  of  tough  paper  on 
•  which  Fremont  had  written  a  recommenda- 
:  tion  of  Captain  Truckee.  This  the  chief  al- 
'  ways  "called  "My  Eag  Friend. " 

Chief  Winnemucca  liked  California  so 
much  that  he  decided  after  much  thinking  and 
talking  with  his  people  to  go  back  to  that 
beautiful  and  fruitful  land.  His  son,  who  was 
to  be  the  chief,  Winnemucca  Second,  was  put 
217 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

in  charge  of  the  Piutes  left  behind,  while 
Captain  Truckee  took  thirty  families  with 
him  for  the  long  journey.  Of  his  own  family 
he  took  his  wife,  his  daughter-in-law,  and  four 
of  her  children— they  were  named  by  their 
grandfather  a  little  later:  Natchez,  Lee, 
Mary,  and  Sarah,  two  boys  and  two  girls. 
Sarah,  who  was  then  six  years  old,  was  the 
youngest,  and  her  grandfather's  favorite,  and 
he  always  spoke  of  her  as  "my  sweetheart. " 
She  was  dreadfully  afraid  of  white  men,  and 
would  hide  her  face,  so  as  not  to  see  them,  and 
weep  a  long  time  if  one  spoke  to  her.  The 
cause  of  this  terror  was  that  she  once  heard 
her  father  say  the  Piutes  were  to  have  great 
sorrows  and  troubles  from  bad  whites. 

A  sister  of  charity  succeeded  in  winning 
her  heart.  The  result  of  this  good  lady's 
friendship  was  that  Mary  and  Sarah  learned 
to  speak  English,  and  for  a  short  term 
were  taken  into  the  Catholic  boarding-school, 
218 


WINNEMUCCA,  CHIEF  OF  THE  PIUTES 

but  the  feeling  against  all  Indians  among  the 
whites  was  such  that  they  declared  they 
would  take  away  all  their  children  if  Indians 
were  allowed  to  come  there.  In  California 
Mr.  Scott  employed  Captain  Truckee  and  his 
Indians  to  care  for  numerous  herds  of  cattle 
and  horses,  and  the  Indians  on  their  ponies 
were  most  faithful  and  successful  herdsmen. 
The  chief,  after  about  a  year  in  California, 
heard  that  the  sub-chief  (his  son,  Winne- 
mucca  Second)  and  all  the  Piutes  with  him, 
had  had  great  trouble.  At  first  two  white  set 
tlers  on  their  way  west  had  been  waylaid  in 
the  mountains,  and  robbed  and  killed  with  ar 
rows.  The  arrows  were  left  there  and  had  on 
them  the  Washoes'  marks,  but  the  white  peo 
ple  insisted  that  Piutes  and  the  Washoes  were 
all  the  same.  Again  two  wicked  white  men 
carried  off  two  little  Piute  girls  and  hid  them. 
After  a  long  search  the  two  Indian  fathers 
found  them  in  a  cellar,  bound  with  cords.  The 
219 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

Indians  became  enraged  at  this  and  killed  the 
white  men. 

Besides,  a  large  party  of  white  people  came 
to  Pyramid  Lake  as  others  had  done  before 
them.  It  was  quite  late  in  the  fall  of  the  year 
and  Winnemucca  Second  with  most  of  his  In 
dians  was  away  hunting  in  the  mountains. 
The  Indians  had  left  their  winter  supply  of 
seeds,  nuts,  wild  onions,  and  camas,  and  a 
large  quantity  of  dried  deer-meat  and  salted 
fish,  carefully  stored  away  near  the  Truckee 
Eiver.  The  strangers  helped  themselves  to 
what  they  could  use,  and  burned  up  all  the  re 
maining  food. 

Winnemucca  Second  became  alarmed  at 
this,  and  when  a  volunteer  company  came  to 
punish  the  Piute  Indians  for  the  loss  of  the 
white  settlers,  he  and  his  followers  began  to 
lose  all  confidence  in  the  "white  brothers" 
that  his  good  father  had  always  trusted  and 
defended.  So  the  sub-chief  kept  all  of  the  Pi- 
220 


WINNEMUCCA,  CHIEF  OF  THE  PIUTES 

utes  lie  could  get  to  stay  with  him  in  different 
camps  in  the  mountains. 

Hearing  all  this  the  old  chief  left  his  two 
grandsons  to  work  for  Mr.  Scott  in  California 
and,  taking  with  him  his  daughter-in-law  and 
the  two  girls,  Mary  and  Sarah,  in  a  large 
wagon,  guarded  by  several  of  his  Indians,  he 
drove  five  hundred  miles  back  to  Pyramid 
Lake.  He  sent  a  messenger  to  find  his  son 
and  begged  him  to  come  back  to  the  beautiful 
valley  and  have  his  people  come  with  him. 
Here  they  met  the  chief,  and  the  wise  and 
good-hearted  old  man  spoke  for  his  white  bro 
thers,  and  once  more  taught  his  people  useful 
lessons. 

Beside  the  beautiful  lake  he  lived  for  many 
years,  and  when  at  last  he  was  about  to  pass 
over  to  the  Happy  Land  he  called  his  son  to 
him  and  told  him  never  to  forget  his  duty  to 
his  own  people  and  to  love  and  always  be  kind 
to  his  white  brothers. 

221 


XIV 

TOC-ME-TO-NE,  AN  INDIAN  PRINCESS 

WE  called  her  Sarah  Winneniucca,  but 
her  real  name  was  Toc-me-to-ne, 
which  means  shell-flower.  Have  you  ever  seen 
these  flowers  growing  in  an  old  garden  among 
their  many  cousins  of  the  Mint  family  ?  Well, 
Toc-me-to-ne  loved  them  of  all  flowers  best, 
for  was  she  not  herself  a  shell-flower? 

Her  people  were  Piute  Indians,  and  they 
lived  in  every  part  of  what  is  now  the  great 
State  of  Nevada. 

Toc-me-to-ne  had  a  flower  name,  so  she  was 
allowed  to  take  part  in  the  children's  flower 
festival,  when  all  the  little  girls  dance  and 
sing,  holding  hands  and  making  believe  that 
they  are  the  very  flowers  for  which  they  are 
222 


TOC-ME-TO-NE,  AN  INDIAN  PRINCESS 

named.  They  wear  their  own  flowers,  too,  and 
after  they  have  sung  together  for  a  while  one 
will  dance  off  on  the  grass  by  herself  while 
all  the  boys  and  girls  look  on  and  she  sings: 

I  am  a  daisy  gold  and  white, 
Somebody  catch  me— me  ! 

The  grown-up  people  watch,  too,  as  their 
children  play,  and  Toc-me-to-ne  was  never 
happier  than  when,  light  as  a  bird,  she  danced 
and  sang  her  shell-flower  song : 

See  me  !  see  me,  a  beautiful  flower. 
Give  me  a  hand  and  dance. 

Then  after  the  plays  and  dancing  the  chil 
dren  had  all  sorts  of  good  things  to  eat,  and 
the  flower  festival  was  over  for  a  year. 

Only  three  times  did  Toc-me-to-ne  take 
part  in  the  flower  festival,  for  when  she  was 
quite  a  little  girl  her  grandfather,  Chief  Win- 
nemucca,  took  his  family  and  went  to  live  in 
California,  and  when  they  came  back  she  was 
almost  grown  up. 

223 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

Her  grandfather  was  very  fond  of  her,  and 
called  her  sweetheart,  so  she  was  sad  and 
lonesome  indeed  when  he  left  her  and  went  to 
the  Happy  Spirit  Land ;  but  she  did  not  for 
get  his  last  words  to  her  before  he  went. 
"Sweetheart,"  he  said,  "do  not  forget  my 
white  brothers ;  be  kind  to  them  and  they  will 
be  kind  to  you  and  teach  you  many  things." 

In  California  the  old  chief  gave  to  his 
grandchildren  new  names— Natchez,  Lee, 
Mary,  and  Sarah,  and  Sarah  learned  to  speak 
fairly  good  English.  Later,  when  she  came  to 
Pyramid  Lake,  she  played  with  Mr.  Ormsby's 

^^•^  •*a***~'~*~* 

children  and  learned  to  speak  better  English. 
Besides  this  Mrs.  Ormsby  taught  her  to  cook 
and  sew  and  to  do  housework. 

When  Sarah  was  fifteen  years  old  she  made 
the  long  five-hundred-mile  journey  to  Califor 
nia  once  more  with  her  brothers  and  sister 
and  her  grandmother.  Her  brothers  took  care 
of  cattle  for  good  Mr.  Scott,  who  had  known 
224 


TOC-ME-TO-NE,  AN  INDIAN  PRINCESS 

and  loved  Chief  Winnemucca,  and  he  gave 
them  good  wages,  several  fine  horses,  and  two 
ponies  for  Sarah  and  Mary  to  ride.  The  sis 
ters  had  always  ridden  bareback  like  Indian 
men,  but  when  Christmas  came  Sarah  was 
surprised  to  find  a  beautiful  Mexican  side 
saddle  from  her  brother  Lee,  and  she  learned 
to  ride  like  the  white  ladies,  and  was  very 
proud  and  happy. 

Now  the  Piutes  always  would  wander 
about.  They  lived  by  hunting  and  fishing,  not 
by  farming,  and  so  they  moved  from  place  to 
place  wherever  there  was  game.  When  they 
were  in  the  mountains  rough  white  settlers 
came  to  Pyramid  Lake  and  caught  almost  all 
'  of  the  fish  with  nets,  so  that  there  were  no  fish 
when  the  Indians  returned.  This  made  the 
Indians  angry,  and  so  trouble  began.  All  this 
time  Sarah  was  in  California,  her  father, 
Chief  Winnemucca  Second,  and  her  mother 
were  in  Nevada,  and  she  often  heard  good 
225 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

news  from  them ;  but  one  spring  when  she  was 
seventeen  years  old  two  Indians  came  bring 
ing  the  news  from  her  father  that  he  was  in 
the  mountains  and  wanted  all  his  children  to 
come  to  him,  but  especially  Sarah. 

Starting  on  their  ponies  they  began  the 
journey,  riding  beside  the  wagon  where  the 
grandmother  rode.  It  took  twenty-five  days 
to  reach  Carson  City,  but  here  their  father 
and  mother  met  them,  and  next  day  all  went 
to  see  Governor  Nye,  where  Sarah  told  in 
English  what  her  father,  the  chief,  wanted 
to  say. 

Governor  Nye  was  very  jolly  and  good,  and 
when  he  knew  how  things  really  were  he  told 
the  white  settlers  not  to  interfere  with  the  In 
dians,  and  sent  soldiers  from  the  fort  to  drive 
the  rough  men  away.  So  Governor  Nye  and 
Chief  Winnemucca  became  good  friends  as 
they  never  could  have  been  but  for  little  Toc- 
me-to-ne  and  her  bright  interpretations. 
226 


The  Princess  Sarah 


TOC-ME-TO-NE,  AN  INDIAN  PRINCESS 

For  the  next  year  Sarah  talked  both  Piute 
and  English,  and  settled  many  little  troubles. 
She  was  called  friend  both  by  the  Indians  and 
soldiers,  and  her  father  and  she  thought  often 
of  old  Chief  Winnemucca's  words  and  kept 
peace  with  their  white  brothers. 

But  just  as  storm-clouds  gather,  so  whis 
pers  came  that  there  would  be  war  between 
the  soldiers  and  the  Piutes.  One  day  some 
old  men  were  fishing  in  a  lake  when  cavalry 
soldiers  rode  up  and  fired  at  them.  The  Indi 
ans  ran  to  their  tepees  near  by?  but  the  sol 
diers  followed  and  hurt  some  of  them.  The 
captain  of  the  soldiers  thought  they  belonged 
to  a  band  of  bad  Indians,  and  as  he  spoke  only 
English  none  could  explain.  As  soon  as  they 
understood  the  dreadful  mistake,  of  course, 
every  one  was  very  sorry  and  did  what  he 
could  to  make  it  right.  One  of  Sarah's  little 
sisters  was  badly  hurt,  but  Chief  Winne 
mucca  and  Sarah  only  spoke  sadly  of  the 

12  229 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

"Lake    Harney    trouble, "    and    were    still 
friendly  to  the  white  people. 

About  this  time  Sarah  came  down  to 
Muddy  Lake  to  help  her  brother  Natchez,  who 
was  sub-chief  there.  Nearby,  Mr.  Nugent,  the 
Indian  agent,  had  a  big  store,  where  he  sold 
all  sorts  of  things.  Now  Uncle  Sam  did  not 
allow  agents  to  sell  shot  and  gunpowder  to 
the  Indians,  but  one  day  Mr.  Nugent  did  sell 
some  to  a  Piute  Indian.  The  Indian  rode 
away  across  the  river  very  happy,  but  soon 
one  of  Mr.  Nugent 's  men  met  him.  He  saw 
the  shot  and  powder  and  in  English  told  the 
Indian  to  give  them  up.  Of  course  the  Indian 
could  not  understand  and  tried  to  ride  on, 
then  the  white  man  fired  and  shot  him.  The 
dreadful  news  spread  among  all  the  Indians 
and  they  were  very  angry,  and  said  Mr.  Nu 
gent  must  die,  because  they  believed  he  had 
let  the  Piute  have  the  powder  and  then  sent 
his  man  to  shoot  him  on  his  way. 
230 


TOC-ME-TO-NE,  AN  INDIAN  PRINCESS 

Angry  Indians  rushed  to  Natchez  and 
frightened  women  and  children  gathered 
around  Sarah,  but  they  both  mounted  their 
swift  ponies  and  hurried  away  to  save  the 
agent's  life  if  possible.  The  river  at  the  ford 
was  high.  Sarah's  pony  stumbled  in  the 
swift  current  and  threw  her  off,  but  her 
brother  helped  her  to  remount,  and  in  her 
wet  clothes,  she  galloped  on  to  Mr.  Nugent 's 
house.  When  Sarah  saw  him  she  cried  to  him 
to  get  quickly  away  or  the  Indians  would  kill 
him,  but  he  replied  that  he  was  not  afraid  and 
called  to  his  men  to  get  their  guns,  saying  he 
would  show  the  rascals  how  to  fight.  Natchez 
and  Sarah  begged  him  to  go  away  till  they 
could  quiet  the  angry  Indians,  but  he  would 
not  and  told  them  to  leave  him.  There  was 
nothing  else  to  do,  but  at  the  ford  they  met 
the  angry  Indians  and  stopped  them.  Natchez 
called  a  council  in  his  tepee,  and  here  he 
and  Sarah  succeeded  in  quieting  the  excite- 
231 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

ment  for  a  time.  Soon  afterward  word  came 
that  two  white  men  herding  horses  near  a 
place  called  Deep  Wells  had  been  shot  by  the 
brothers  of  the  Piute  Indian  who  bought  the 
powder.  Then  Mr.  Nugent  went  to  Fort  Mc- 
Dermit  to  get  soldiers  to  punish  the  Indians. 

Now  when  the  agent  asked  for  soldiers  the 
captain,  who  was  a  wise  man,  decided  to  know 
the  truth  first,  so  he  sent  two  friendly  Indians 
with  a  letter  to  Sarah.  This  is  the  letter : 

Miss  SARAH  WINNEMUCCA:  Your  agent  tells  us 
very  bad  things  about  your  people  killing  two  of 
our  men.  I  want  you  and  your  brother  Natchez  to 
meet  me  at  our  place  to-night.  I  want  to  talk  to 
you  and  your  brother. 

(signed)  CAPTAIN  JEROME, 

Company  M,  8th  U.  S.  Cavalry. 

The  Indians  were  terrified  when  Sarah  told 
them  what  was  in  the  letter  and  said :  "  Write, 
write;  you  may  be  able  to  save  us  from  a 
dreadful  war.77  Sarah  had  nothing  to  write 
with,  but  she  said:  "I  will  try,'7  and  with  a 
232 


TOC-ME-TO-NE,  AN  INDIAN  PRINCESS 

sharp-pointed  stick  and  some  fish  blood 
scratched  off  this  letter : 

HON.  SIR  :  My  brother  is  not  here.  I  am  looking 
for  him  every  minute.  We  will  go  as  soon  as  he 
comes  in.  If  he  comes  to-night  we  will  come  some 
time  during  the  night. 

Yours, 

S.  W. 

The  messengers  were  hardly  gone  when 
Natchez  and  his  men  returned.  They  took 
fresh  horses  and  he  and  Sarah  started  for  the 
fort.  She  says:  "We  went  like  the  wind, 
never  stopping  till  we  got  there. ' '  When  they 
arrived,  the  wicked  agent  was  with  Captain 
Jerome,  but  Sarah  told  the  whole  story,  and 
the  Captain  treated  them  well  and  promised 
to  do  what  was  right.  Then  the  brother  and 
sister,  tired  as  they  were,  rode  back  to  their 
tepee  on  Muddy  Lake.  The  next  day  a  good 
officer  and  some  soldiers  came  and  camped 
near  them.  The  soldiers  gave  the  Indians  food 
and  guarded  them  while  Sarah  and  Natchez 
233 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

held  meetings  with  their  people  and  showed 
them  how  kind  the  soldiers  had  been.  After 
this,  because  of  the  bad  ways  of  Nugent,  the 
commander  at  Fort  McDermit  had  Natchez 
and  many  Indians  come  to  the  army  post  and 
pitch  their  tepees.  Sarah  lived  with  her 
brother  and  his  wife,  and  was  the  interpreter 
and  peacemaker;  and  she  persuaded  the 
chief,  her  father,  to  get  together  as  many  as 
possible  of  the  wandering  Piutes  and  bring 
them  to  the  fort. 

Sarah  was  sweet  and  handsome  and  very 
quick  and  able.  When  she  grew  older  she 
married  one  of  the  young  army  officers,  but 
later  he  went  East  and  she  returned  to  her 
own  people  and  lived  on  the  Malheur  Indian 
Eeservation.  Here  she  was  always  called 
' '  the  Princess ' '  because  of  her  influence  over 
her  people. 

It  was  in  1878  that  the  Bannock  Indians 
started  on  the  warpath  in  Idaho  and,  joining 
234 


TOC-ME-TO-NE,  AN  INDIAN  PRINCESS 

the  Malheur  Piutes,  fought  the  white  people 
wherever  they  went.  This  was  called  the 
Piute  and  Bannock  War.  The  Princess,  Sarah 
Winnemucca,  was  riding  near  Fort  Lyons, 
Idaho,  when  she  heard  of  the  trouble.  She 
was  on  her  way  to  a  railway  station  at  Elko, 
Nevada,  hoping  to  go  to  Washington  to  try 
and  have  some  wrongs  put  right  on  the  Mal 
heur  agency.  When  she  heard  the  news  she  at 
once  turned  back  and  went  to  the  sheep  ranch 
near  Boise  City,  and  when  I  heard  she  was 
there  I  telegraphed  to  Captain  Bernhard  who 
was  nearby  with  some  soldiers,  to  ask  the 
' '  Princess ' '  to  go  as  a  messenger  of  peace  to 
the  angry  Indians.  She  said  she  would  go, 
and,  taking  with  her  some  true  Indian  friends, 
she  rode,  in  a  day  and  a  half,  over  one  hundred 
miles.  She  was  approaching  the  Indian  camp 
in  the  dark  and  wondering  how  to  get  in  unno 
ticed  when  she  heard  a  sound.  She  called  and 
an  answering  sign  showed  her  it  was  an  In- 
235 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

dian.  To  her  surprise  and  delight  it  proved 
to  be  her  own  brother,  Lee  Winnemucca. 
They  had  a  long  talk,  and  Sarah  changed  her 
usual  neat  dress  for  an  old  skirt  and  Indian 
blanket,  painting  her  face  and  pulling  a  shawl 
over  her  head  like  the  squaws.  Then  she  went 
straight  into  the  Indian  camp  and  to  her  fa 
ther  's  lodge  among  the  righting  warriors  who 
never  thought  for  a  moment  of  what  she  was 
there  for.  When  she  saw  her  father  she  had 
a  long  talk  with  him  in  the  Piute  language, 
and  begged  him  not  to  have  war  with  his 
white  brothers.  Of  course  the  Bannock  In 
dians  could  not  understand  what  she  said,  so 
they  suspected  nothing.  As  soon  as  it  was 
dark  Sarah  went  out  quietly  into  the  woods 
and  waited.  One  by  one  Chief  Winnemucca 
and  his  family  with  many  of  his  followers 
stole  out  of  the  camp  and  joined  her.  Then 
she  guided  them  to  the  sheep  ranch,  and  there 
I  met  them  three  days  after  I  had  sent  my  tel- 
236 


TOC-ME-TO-NE,  AN  INDIAN  PRINCESS 

egram.  With  her  sister-in-law  Mattie  for  a 
companion,  this  Indian  Princess,  Sarah  Win- 
nemucca,  became  my  guide,  messenger,  and 
interpreter  till  the  close  of  that  fearful  Piute 
and  Bannock  War. 

She  did  our  government  great  service,  and 
if  I  could  tell  you  but  a  tenth  part  of  all  she 
willingly  did  to  help  the  white  settlers  and  her 
own  people  to  live  peaceably  together  I  am 
sure  you  would  think,  as  I  do,  that  the  name 
of  Toc-me-to-ne  should  have  a  place  beside 
the  name  of  Pocahontas  in  the  history  of  our 
country. 


237 


XV 

MATTIE,    THE    DAUGHTER   OF    CHIEF    SHENKAH 

CHIEF  SHENKAH  was  a  Piute  Indian 
like  the  first  Chief  Winnemucca,  whom 
the  white  men,  who  early  traveled  over  the 
Kocky  Mountains,  met  on  the  broad  prairie 
land  of  Nevada.  He  was  one  of  Winnemuc 
ca  's  young  followers.  Of  noble  appearance 
and  always  brave  and  trustworthy,  Shenkah 
became  the  chief  of  a  small  tribe  of  the  Pi- 
utes,  after  Winnemucca 's  death.  When  the 
Piutes  were  at  peace  with  other  Indians  and 
with  the  white  people,  Shenkah  was  very 
friendly  indeed,  especially  to  the  soldiers, 
and  our  officers  were  much  pleased  when 
they  could,  on  marches  in  search  of  lakes  and 
rivers  round  their  camps  and  posts,  get 
238 


MATTIE 

Shenkah  for  a  guide.  He  hunted  deer  and 
other  game  for  them  and  they  gave  him  a 
rifle  and  trusted  him  to  make  long  journeys 
into  the  mountains.  He  always  returned, 
and  never  without  different  kinds  of  wild 
game. 

After  his  old  chief  went  far  away  to  Cali 
fornia  with  General  Fremont,  trouble  arose 
on  account  of  a  sad  mistake  which  resulted 
in  a  dreadful  war  between  some  of  the  sol 
diers  and  the  Indians.  Chief  Shenkah,  lead 
ing  his  warriors,  was  in  that  war  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end,  until,  at  last,  a  good 
peace  came. 

His  daughter,  Mattie,  when  about  twenty 
years  of  age,  told  me  about  her  father.  Mat- 
tie  could  read  and  write  English  slowly,  and 
spoke  it  well  enough  for  me  to  understand 
her.  She  talked  with  a  pretty  musical  tone, 
each  sentence  sounding  sometimes  like  a 
song,  and  sometimes  her  sentences  were  like 
239 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

poetry.  This  is  what  she  said:  "My  first 
mem'ry  is  'way  back.  It  is  like  a  shadow,  a 
dream.  I  just  see  him,  my  father!  I  have 
this  picture  of  him,  very  sad,  very  sad,  in 
my  heart.  I  did  not  know  much  then,  not 
much  as  I  do  now.  He  was  so  strange,— so 
different  from  all  the  rest.  I  know  now  that 
he  was  strange  because  he  was  just  leaving 
us — for  always.  Oh,  I  was  such  a  little  girl! 
My  father  had  been  hurt  in  battle;  he  was 
very  pale,  and  his  eyes  very  bright,  and  look 
ing  far  away.  I  am  sure  he  knew  when  he 
spoke  to  me  that  he  could  not  live  to  see  an 
other  sun.  He  was  lying  down  on  the  ground, 
and  he  took  me  and  pressed  me  tenderly  in 
I  his  arms  against  his  breast.  Chief  Egan, 
my  uncle,  was  kneeling  by  my  father's  side 
and  bending  over  us  with  tears  in  his  eyes. 
At  last  my  dear  father  spoke  and  said : '  Egan, 
my  brother,  the  Great  Spirit  calls  me  away— 
I  must  go.  I  cannot  take  my  little  child  with 
240 


MATTIE 

me — the  Great  Spirit  does  not  call  her  to  go 
now.  I  wish  I  could  take  her  with  me  to  meet 
her  mother;  but  I  cannot.  My  brother,  I 
leave  her  to  you,  be  her  father. '  Such  words 
I  am  sure,  for  they  pressed  on  my  mem'ry, 
are  the  ones  my  poor  dear  father  used.  They 
were  wonderful  and  so  have  remained  with 
me  through  all  my  years.  My  uncle,  Chief 
Egan,  gave  my  father  an  answer,  but  I  do 
not  quite  remember  what  he  said,  but  he  laid 
his  hand  very  gently  on  my  head  while  my 
father  added  a  few  words  which,  like  his 
others,  have  always  been  in  my  mind:  'My 
daughter,  my  little  dove,  you  cannot  know 
what  this  parting  means ;  to  me  it  is  a  bitter 
one,  but  you  and  I  will  meet  again;  your 
good  Uncle  Egan  will  be  a  father  to  you  and 
you  must  be  a  good  daughter  to  him.'  After 
a  few  minutes  of  silence  he  gave  his  last 
words:  'Now  I  go  in  peace.7 

This  is  all  that  Mattie  could  remember. 
241 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

She  went  away  to  live  with  her  uncle,  who 
became  a  chieftain  among  the  Piutes,  and 
who  led  many  of  them  in  the  pursuits  of 
peace  and  of  war.  He  was  kind  and  loving 
to  his  adopted  daughter,  and  she  returned 
his  love  with  childlike  devotion  and  always 
treated  him  as  a  father. 

It  was  perhaps  two  years  after  the  death 
of  her  father  when  she  was  carried  to  a  camp 
called  Howluk  near  the  borders  of  Nevada. 
There  had  been  just  then  some  battles  be 
tween  the  white  people  and  the  Indians,  and 
the  Indians  had  been  again  defeated.  This 
war  would  not  have  come  on  if  the  white  men 
and  the  Indians  had  spoken  the  same 
language  and  could  have  understood  each 
other,  and  when  Mattie  told  me  of  it,  she 
said:  "When  will  my  red  brothers  learn 
that  it  is  more  than  foolish  to  rise  up  and  go 
on  the  war-path  against  our  white  brothers! 
Even  now  we  are  reading  and  hearing  of 
242 


MATTIE 

war.  We  poor  women  and  the  innocent  little 
childron-  and  the  old  and  helpless  are  the  ones 
who  suffer  most.  But  now  I  know  that  the 
white  men  make  war  with  their  white 
brothers  also.  Why  is  this?  Why  do  they 
make  war  with  each  other  and  make  us  suffer? 
Oh,  we  suffer  so  much;  not  only  our  bodies 
by  hunger,  sickness,  cold,  or  heat,  but  our 
hearts  bleed  from  the  moment  our  dear  ones 
go  away  under  the  sound  of  the  song  or  the 
band  and  the  drum.  Then  comes  the  terrible 
time  of  waiting— my  breath  seems  to  stop 
when  I  remember  it.  Then  there  is  the  news 
of  wounds  and  death  to  reach  us  at  home; 
very  few  can  follow  the  cry  of  their  hearts 
to  run  to  the  beloved  one,  because  there  are 
little  ones  to  keep  them  at  home." 

She  went  on  to   say:     "I  learned  about 

wars  at  school  in  Oregon,  and,  as  you  know, 

I  was  again  and  again  in  war  myself,  and  it 

is  horrid!     I  am  no  coward-girl,  and  I  am 

243 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

not  afraid  even  when  the  guns  fire ;  but  I  do 
not  want  war.  Men  who  are  so  wise  as  to 
make  so  many  wonderful  things  should  find 
a  way  to  settle  their  troubles  without  causing 
so  much  wretchedness  and  sorrow  and  tears. 
I  am  only  a  poor  Indian  girl,  and  though  I  've 
been  to  school  many  days,  yet  I  know  but 
very  little.  I  am  sure  that  many  of  my  white 
sisters,  who  know  more  than  I  do,  think  about 
battles  and  wars  just  as  I  do." 

In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Parish,  a  lady  who  was 
very  much  beloved  by  the  Piute  Indians,  she 
writes :  i  i  My  uncle  called  all  his  Indians 
around  him  and  spoke  to  them  in  this  way: 
'The  white  men  are  taking  away  from  us  all 
our  land  here  in  Nevada.  They  are  driving 

off  all  our  ponies.    The  war-chief  of  the  Pi- 
j 

utes  was  angry,  and  he  had  already  taken 
the  war-path.  He,  Chief  Shenkah,  was  my 
brother,  as  you  know.  He  did  not  succeed. 
The  red  man  and  white  man  did  fight  many 
244 


MATTIE 

suns,  many  soldiers  and  many  braves  fell 
in  battle,  and  the  young  men  are  buried  all 
along  the  creeks  and  rivers.  My  brother, 
Chief  Shenkah  has  passed  on  to  the  better 
land.  We  see  very  plainly  that  the  red  men 
cannot  fight  the  white  men.  We  have  not 
such  good  rifles  and  good  horses  as  they  have. 
Our  bows  and  arrows  are  nothing.  And  now 
the  white  men  say  Peace.  They  say,  take  a 
home  in  Malheur,  Oregon.  There  is  good 
land,  good  water,  and  plenty  of  food  over 
there.  The  red  man  and  the  white  man  must 
eat  bread  together.  I  now  say  this  is  good,— 
let  us  go.  Egan  is  done.7 

"Young  as  I  was,  I  do  not  forget  the  long 
ride  we  took  to  Malheur.     My  people  were  > 

very  poor.     Many  of  them  were  ill  on  the 

i 
way  from   the   want   of   clothing   and   good 

food;  but  as  my  uncle,  Chief  Egan,  had  de 
cided  that  it  was  best  to  go,  the  braves  of 
the  tribe  kept  up  from  day  to  day  the  weary 
13  245 


x 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

journey.  A  large  number  had  to  go  on  foot, 
as  at  that  time  the  ponies,  which  remained 
to  us  after  the  war,  were  very  few,  and  those 
we  had  were  mostly  thin  of  flesh,  and  many 
lame.  My  good  Uncle  Egan  never  forgot 
me.  He  gave  me  all  I  needed,  and  I  had  a 
nice  little  mouse-colored  pony  to  carry  me. 
The  pony  was  one  of  the  best  among  them 
all,  and  so  he  had  to  bear  some  goods  as  well 
as  me.  The  bundles  were  put  on  his  back 
and  tied  fast  before  I  was  put  up  on  top  of 
I  them.  As  I  have  now  seen  an  elephant,  I 
•'  think  that  my  little  horse  looked  very  much 
like  a  small  elephant.  His  legs  seemed  very 
short.  I  was  a  little  afraid,  but  Uncle  Egan  \ 
kindly  strapped  me  to  the  load,  and  with 
pleasant  words  handed  me  a  small  whip  and 

*••-«,*... .H.^.^.MW^—  — «.  „_, —•* 

remarked  that  I  was  high  up,  higher  than  all 
the  other  riders,  so  I  was  quite  safe  and 
proud.  At  times,  as  ponies  will,  mine  would 
stop  beside  the  trail  and  put  down  his  head 
246 


An  Indian  Horse-Race 


MATTIE 

to  eat,  then  I  would  use  my  whip,  though  he 
appeared  to  know  that  my  whippings  did  not 
mean  a  great  deal.  Our  ponies  seemed  to 
know  about  everything  much  more  than 
those  of  the  white  people.  Some  would  not 
v  let  a  white  man  mount  them.  They  showed 
their  disgust  in  a  very  plain  way— hard  to 
catch,  and,  being  caught,  hard  to  bridle,  twist 
ing  their  heads  one  way  and  another.  Oh, 
how  I  used  to  enjoy  the  fun  watching  a  pale 
face  in  his  vain  attempts  to  subdue  one  of 
our  horses  who  was  perfectly  gentle  with  any 
of  us  Indians.  Think  of  the  saddling!  By 
a  wicked  little  shake  of  his  body  the  blanket 
would  slip  off,  first  on  one  side  and  then  on 
the  other,  and  the  saddle  go  forward  or  back 
ward.  The  best  part  of  the  fun  was  to  look 
at  the  white  man's  attempt  to  mount  an  In 
dian  pony ;  with  the  saddle  on  he  would  think 
all  was  right,  and  get  one  foot  nearly  into 
the  stirrup,  when  the  nag  would  move  just 
249 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

a  little  bit,  then  another  little  bit,  just  enough 
to  make  his  rider  hop  after  him  on  one  foot. 
To  us  children  all  this  appeared  so  amusing 
that  we  greeted  the  effort  with  shouts  of 
laughter.  Such  things  happened  to  me  when 
I  was  quite  little.  At  school  I  learned  that 
it  was  very  unkind  and  rude  so  to  laugh— to 
laugh  at  any  one;  but  I  think  the  children 
could  not  well  help  it,  because  here  was  a  lit 
tle  animal  which  any  Indian  child  five  years 
old  could  catch  by  the  mane,  lead  to  a  log, 
-jump  on  and  ride  wherever  he  pleased.  Of 
course  our  little  nags  had  their  likes  and  dis 
likes,  just  like  ourselves.  I  think  we  were  a 
little joroud  to  find  that  these  white  men,  who 
brought  such  wonderful  things  to  us,  were 
not  equal  to  us  in  training  and  riding  ponies. 
4 'On  that  long  march  to  Malheur  we  had 
an  old  donkey.  His  name  was  Wee-choo.  I 
was  such  a  naughty  Indian  child  that  I  en 
joyed  Wee-choo 's  mischievous  performances, 
250 


MATTIE 

as  I  afterward  enjoyed  what  I  saw  in  a  regu 
lar  circus.  I  used  to  give  hearty  cheers  for 
our  old  donkey.  No  white  man  or  white 
woman  ever  could  succeed  in  riding  him, 
though  many  frontiermen  and  boys  tried  to 
do  so.  At  one  time  they  came  great  distances 
and  had  the  ambition  to  ride  what  they  called 
'Egan's  donkey/  At  every  race  or  Indian 
feast  this  donkey  was  a  source  of  great  merri 
ment.  He  would  put  himself  in  every  ridic 
ulous  posture  and  always  managed  to  send 
a  white  man  flying  from  his  back. 

"At  one  time  there  came  a  tall,  long- 
limbed  Irishman.  His  legs,  if  he  ever  could 
have  sat  on  Wee-choo's  back,  were  so  long 
that  his  feet  would  have  touched  the  ground. 
He  looked  like  a  grasshopper  when  trying 
to  get  on.  The  nearest  he  ever  came  to  it 
caused  him  to  jump  entirely  over  the  donkey 
and  sit  flat  on  the  ground  amid  the  laughing 
and  shouting  of  the  Indians.  No  one  was 
251 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

ever  badly  hurt  and  Wee-choo  was  a  great 
favorite  with  us.  You  may  understand  that 
some  soft  old  river-bed  or  other  very  sandy 
place  was  chosen  for  the  Wee-choo  circus. 
/With  the  Indians  the  old  animal  became  so 
jtame  that  no  mother  in  our  tribe  would  hesi- 
tate  for  a  moment  to  put  her  child  on  his 
back,  where  he  would  sit  up  straight,  if  strong 
enough,  and  hold  to  his  mane.  I  remember 
the  kindness  of  the  children  to  this  old 
donkey.  They  gave  him  milk  to  drink 
after  his  teeth  became  too  decayed  to  eat 
grass  or  hay.  We  would  grind  his  barley, 
corn  or  wheat,  and  soak  it  for  him,  and 
he  appeared  to  understand  and  appreciate 
our  care." 

At  last,  after  the  long  and  tedious  journey, 
Chief  Egan  and  his  Indians  reached  Mal- 
heur.  They  were  put  on  a  large  piece  of 
land  called  a  reservation— something  very 
few  of  the  tribe  knew  anything  about.  It 
252 


MATTIE 

appeared  to  the  people  something  they  did 
not  like,  some  sort  of  prison. 

Mattie  said :  * '  Had  my  uncle,  Chief  Egan, 
seen  any  other  way  to  provide  for  his  people, 
he  never  would  have  gone  there,  and  would 
never  have  used  his  influence  to  bring  them 
all  to  that  place.  But  what  were  they  to  do ! 
All  our  land  in  Nevada  that  was  of  any  ac 
count  had  been  taken  away  and  settled  upon 
by  the  white  people.  Every  place  which  we 
had  held  and  where  there  was  good  soil  and 
good  water  was  taken  and  fenced  in  as  a 
white  man's  claim;  and  so  we  came  to  Mal- 
heur,  Oregon.  I  have  been  told  that  the  word 
'Malheur'  means  misfortune,  and  as  soon  as 
the  people  heard  this  meaning,  it  added  to 
their  homesickness  and  sadness." 

But  Mattie  was  fortunate.  She  met  Mrs. 
Parish.  No  white  person  had  ever  spoken  so 
kindly  to  her,  nor  looked  so  pleasantly  in  her 
face.  Mattie 's  heart  went  out  to  this  good 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

woman.  She  did  not  then  quite  understand 
her  language,  but  she  did  understand  her 
gentle  voice  and  kind  manner.  Again  Mattie 
found  a  loving  welcome  from  the  interpreter, 
Sarah  Winnemucca,  who  soon  became  a  sister 
to  her  and  a  teacher.  Mr.  Parish  was,  at  that 
time,  in  charge  of  all  the  Indians,  and  he  was 
of  such  noble  spirit  and  kind  ways,  that  he 
very  soon  made  them  feel  that  Malheur  was 
not  so  bad  for  them  as  they  first  had  feared. 

Mattie  (her  teacher,  Mrs.  Parish,  says) 
looked  very  quaint  and  nice  in  her  manta 
dress;  and  how  good  and  attentive  she  was 
in  the  school!  She  also  remembered  the 
pretty  flowers  that  Mattie  brought  her,  and 
how  radiant  she  was  when  told  that  her  good 
friend  loved  flowers,  and  put  them  into  a 
vase  on  her  desk.  Mattie  loved  her  teacher 
more  every  day,  and  this  loving  little  girl 
was  dearest  of  all  to  her  teacher. 

Mattie  loved  to  talk  of  those  days  when 
254 


MATTIE 

the  Indians  had  Mr.  Parish  for  their  good 
agent.  One  day,  as  the  children  came  into 
the  school-room  their  attention  was  attracted 
by  a  great  number  of  beautiful  colored  pic 
tures  hung  on  the  walls  of  the  room— pictures 
of  horses,  dogs,  cats,  birds,  trees,  and  many 
things  which  they  had  never  seen  before. 
Mattie  says  that  the  little  Indians  were  as 
happy  as  they  could  be  when  they  looked 
upon  those  pictures  for  the  first  time.  The 
pictures  were  so  attractive  that  their  school 
room  soon  filled  with  children,  children  large 
and  small,  and  the  largest  did  not  know  more 
than  the  smallest. 

One  day  Chief  Egan  came  in  and  said  to 
the  scholars :  * i  You  must  be  very  good  chil 
dren  and  obey  the  teacher;  give  good  atten 
tion  to  what  she  says  and  remember  it  as  well 
as  you  can.  The  great  father  in  Washington 
sent  her  to  teach  the  little  ones,  and  this  was 
good  for  us." 

255 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

No  Indian  chief  seemed  to  be  more  re 
spected  and  loved  by  his  people  than  Chief 
Egan.  Mattie  remembered  the  day  when  she 
tried  hard  and  at  last  succeeded  in  lisping 
the  teacher's  name.  The  next  day  she  learned 
to  say  "Good  morning/'  and  all  the  children 
were  soon  able  to  say,  "Good  morning, 
Mother  Parish." 

Mr.  Parish  one  day  brought  in  and  hung 
near  the  teacher's  desk  a  clear-faced  clock. 
It  was  the  first  one  that  these  children  had 
ever  looked  upon,  and  it  took  them  two  or 
three  days  to  get  used  to  it,  first,  to  call  it  by 
name  in  English  and  then,  little  by  little,  to 
learn,  as  they  all  did,  how  to  tell  the  time  of 
day. 

At  this  school  Mattie  had  a  little  boy  friend 
named  Tayhue.  "Poor  little  fellow,"  she 
said,  "he  was  so  good  and  stupid,  trying  so 
hard,  as  hard  as  ever  he  could,  but  somehow 
letters  and  words  would  not  sound  right  out 
256 


MATTIE 

of  his  mouth.  No  one  could  picture  Tayhue  's 
sounds.  Well,  he  never  spoke  quite  plainly 
in  his  own  language."  Mattie  said  that  one 
should  see  him  now,  that  he  has  grown  up 
into  a  very  nice  young  man  and  has  married. 
He  married  little  La-loo,  and  he  declared  that 
he  loved  her  from  the  time  she  tried  to  teach 
him  what  to  say  in  school. 

When  Mattie  could  speak  English  she  said 
to  Mrs.  Parish:  "You  know  I  have  no 
mother,  so  I  had  more  love  to  give  you  than 
the  other  children.  Did  you  ever  dream  how 
very  dear  you  were  to  me?  As  soon  as  you 
thought  that  we  children  could  understand 
you  told  us  about  the  Saviour.  I  would  think 
of  all  you  said  to  us  when  I  went  home,  and 
from  your  words  there  came  most  sweet  and 
lovely  thoughts  to  me,— indeed,  you  woke  up 
my  soul." 

Mattie  describes  the  time  when  the  large 
maps  came  and  were  shown  near  the  teach- 
257 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

er's  desk.  She  recalled  particularly  the  great 
map  of  the  United  States.  There  were  many 
different  colors  to  represent  the  States,  and 
at  first  the  children  thought  that  the  land 
must  be  red,  green,  yellow,  or  blue,  just  as  it 
looked  to  them  on  the  map.  They  had  hard 
work  to  understand  the  picture  of  the  ocean. 
Mattie  had  seen  several  lakes,  but  not  till  by 
and  by,  when  she  came  to  San  Francisco,  did 
she  see  the  grand  sight. 

When  Mattie  grew  up  she  became  the  wife 

of  Lee  Winnemucca,  and  when  I  saw  her,— 

as  I  often  did  during  the  last  year  of  her 

short  life, — she  was  always  with  Lee's  sister 

;  Sarah,  doing  what  she  could  to  help  and  com- 

«^MMM >*•"""*         ' 

fort  her  people,  for  they  had  suffered  many 
trials  and  hardships  during  the  Piute  and 
Bannock  War.  She  had  not  forgotten  her 
early  lessons  at  Malheur,  and  by  her  sweet 
manners  and  loving  spirit  made  every  one 
about  her  very  happy. 
258 


XVI 


CHIEF   EGAN    OF   THE    MALHEURS 


Indians  pronounced  the  name   of 
A      Egan,  Ehegante;  but  the  soldiers  and 
the  white  men  living  near  the  Indians1  reser 
vation,    situated   in   eastern   Oregon,   called 
him  Egan. 

Egan  was  born  a  Umatilla.  His  father 
and  mother  were  both  from  the  Cayuse  tribe 
who  lived  in  the  valley  of  the  beautiful  Uma 
tilla  Eiver.  That  river  flows  from  the  springs 
and  creeks  of  the  lofty  Blue  Hills  of  Oregon, 
and  with  a  length  of  about  forty  miles  cours 
ing  westward,  enters  the  Columbia  River,  not 
far  south  of  the  old  Fort  Walla  Walla,  where 
is  now  the  little  village  of  Wallula. 
259 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

When  very  small,  Egan's  father  and 
mother,  with  several  other  Cayuses,  were 
away  from  home  out  on  a  meadow  gathering 
wild  onions  and  other  kinds  of  nature's  food. 
They  had  in  their  camp  of  tepees  men,  women, 
and  children.  Suddenly  a  wild  war  party  of 
Indians  from  the  Snake  country  came  upon 
them  and  a  fierce  battle  occurred.  All  the 
Cayuses  in  the  camp  were  killed  except  the 
children.  These  children  were  carried  off 
and  scattered  among  the  Snakes  and  the  Pi- 
utes.  Little  Egan  was  left  with  and  brought 
up  by  a  good  Piute  family. 

When  he  was  old  enough,  he  became  fa 
mous  among  the  young  Indian  hunters.  He 
was  above  the  medium  height,  very  handsome, 
strong,  and  athletic;  could  lead  any  party  in 
fishing  the  streams,  climbing  the  mountains 
or  chasing  the  deer.  He  could  not  have  been 
more  than  twenty  when  he  married  the  sister 
of  Shenkah,  a  Piute  chief.  This  chief  called 
260 


CHIEF  EGAN 

him  brother.     Side  by  side  with  Shenkah  he 
had  fought  against  hostile  tribes  of  Indians 
and  against  the  white  settlers  and  soldiers     v, 
under  our  General  Crook,  till  he  himself  be 
came  a  well-known  war-chief. 

While  Winnemucca  the  second  was  the  ac 
knowledged  chief  of  all  the  tribes  of  the  Pi- 
ute  nation,  Egan  held  the  headship  of  a 
tribe  in  1872,  which,  about  that  time,  left 
Nevada  and  journeyed  several  hundred  miles 
to  Malheur,  eastern  Oregon.  Before  this, 
Egan's  tribe  was  not  a  very  settled  people, 
under  no  real  control;  composed  in  great 
part  of  wild,  roving,  half-starved  bands,  off 
in  the  mountain  districts,  far  from  white 
farmers,  and  depending  for  their  living  on 
hunting,  fishing,  and,  too  often,  on  stealing 
the  sheep  and  cattle  of  the  settlers. 

In  the  winter  of  1872  and  1873,  when  the 
snows  were  deep,  there  were  then  at  Mal 
heur    about    a    thousand    Indians,     Piutes 
263 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

mainly ;  but  some  were  Bannocks  and  some  of 
the  Snake-Eiver  tribe. 

In  1874  they  had  an  excellent  agent,  Major 
Sam  Parish.  He  and  Chief  Egan  soon  be 
came  the  best  of  friends.  In  the  spring,  Par 
ish  set  apart  twenty  acres  of  good  ground, 
and  tried  to  teach  the  Indians,  hardly  wiser 
than  untaught  children,  how  to  cultivate  the 
land  and  raise  crops.  Through  Egan  the  In 
dians  came  to  love  Major  Parish,  while  in  a 
school  for  the  little  ones  Mrs.  Parish  more 
than  seconded  her  husband 's  efforts.  At  the 
start  they  were  awkward  and  slow  to  learn 
practical  farming,  but  soon  they  made  pro 
gress,  for  they  had  promised  Egan  that  they 
would  do  their  best.  Over  and  over  again 
the  agent  showed  them  just  the  right  way  to 
plow  and  harrow,  furrow  and  plant,  till  per 
severance  won  the  day.  Before  very  long 
they  saw  the  result  of  their  labor  in  fields  full 
of  corn,  potatoes,  squashes,  onions,  and  tur- 
264 


CHIEF  EGAN 

nips,  and  all  this  product  was  to  be  their  own. 
But  the  best  part  of  the  trial  was:  "The 
Piute  would  work ! ' ' 

In  1876,  more  than  one  hundred  acres  were 
covered  with  fine  crops,  and  the  Indians  had 
done  the  good  work  themselves,  and  were 
reaping  the  reward.  The  Indians  at  this 
time,  as  a  rule,  were  contented  and  happy, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  unruly  ones  led 
by  a  "  dreamer "  named  Oytes.  He  called 
himself  aj'  medicine-man, "  and  his  influence 
was  much  like  that  of  all  the  other  medicine 
men  among  the  Indians.  They  always  had 
some  queer  ways  of  thinking  and  acting. 
Quick-witted,  ugly  in  appearance,  and  strange 
in  their  conduct,  they  would  frighten  men  and 
women  by  their  claims  of  supernatural 
powers. 

OYTES  said :    "I  can  defeat  all  our  enemies ! 
No  bullet  can  hurt  me.    I  have  the  power  to 
14  265 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

kill  any  of  you!  It  is  wrong  to  dig  up  the 
face  of  the  earth,— the  earth  is  our  mother; 
we  must  live  upon  what  grows  of  itself/'  etc., 
etc. 

After  a  few  days  Major  Parish  was  told 
by  the  good-hearted  Egan  about  Oytes— how 
wicked  he  was;  how  discontented  he  made 
many  of  the  Indians ;  and  how  idle  and  worth 
less  many  became  from  his  example  and  his 
teaching;  furthermore,  he  planned  to  assas 
sinate  the  agent  and  Egan.  At  last  Parish 
sent  for  Oytes  and  said  to  him  in  the  presence 
of  his  friends:  "I  have  three  hundred  dol 
lars  in  a  bank.  If  you  will  stand  up  before 
me  and  let  me  fire  a  bullet  from  this  gun 
straight  at  your  breast,  and  if  it  passes 
through  your  body  and  does  not  hurt  you,— 
as  you  say  it  will  not,— I  will  give  you  the 
three  hundred  dollars."  Major  Parish  had 
his  good  rifle,  well  loaded,  in  his  hand. 

Poor  Oytes  could  not  hide  his  terror.    He 
266 


CHIEF  EGAN 

cringed  and  squirmed  to  get  away ;  but  Egan 
made  him  stay  there  before  the  Major,  and 
as  soon  as  Oytes  could  speak,  he  said  to  the 
interpreter:  "I  am  wicked,  wicked;  beg  the 
good  agent  not  to  kill  me !  I  will  work  and  I 
will  never  give  him  and  Egan  any  more 
trouble."  And  as  long  as  Major  Sam  Parish 
was  Uncle  Sam's  agent  at  Malheur,  Oytes 
kept  his  word. 

In  the  fall  of  1874,  I  came  to  command  the 
department  within  which  was  Malheur.  With 
Captain  Sladen,  my  aide,  and  my  daughter 
Grace  (a  young  lady  of  seventeen)^!  rode  in 
a  spring-wagon  drawn  by  mules  the  forty 
miles  from  old  ' '  Camp  Harney, ' '  via  Malheur 
City,  to  the  Malheur  Indian  agency.  It  was 
then  a  rough  sage-brush  country,  with  very 
few  houses  and  settlements.  I  remember  how 
terrified  my  daughter  was  at  the  tavern  in 
Malheur  City  on  account  of  the  noise  and 
disturbance  of  drunken  white  men. 
267 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

At  the  agency,  Mr.  Parish  and  his  good 
wife,  aided  by  Sarah,  the  interpreter,  made 
us  very  welcome  and  comfortable.  In  the 
night  the  Indians  had  a  noisy  dance  lasting 
many  hours.  I  heard  the  sounds,  and  they 
seemed  to  me  as  wild  and  frightful  as  the 
Apache  war-dances  which  I  had  witnessed 
some  years  before.  Uneasy  in  mind  and 
sleepless,  I  rose  about  midnight  and  dressed, 
visited  the  agent  and  inquired  what  was  the 
matter.  Parish  laughed  and  sent  for  Chief 
Egan  and  Sarah.  "Oh,"  said  the  chief,  "we 
were  all  so  happy  that  General  Howard  had 
come  and  had  brought  the  young  lady,  his 
daughter,  that  we  had  to  celebrate  the  event 
by  a  good  feast  and  dance. "  I  was  satisfied 
and  happy  to  let  the  feast  and  the  dance  go 
on,  so  returned  to  my  comfortable  bed  and 
was  able  to  sleep  without  any  further  inter 
ruption  till  morning.  My  intimate  friends 
always  teased  me  about  that  experience  and 
268 


CHIEF  EGAN 

asked:  "What  were  you  afraid  of  at  Mal- 
heurT'  I  answered,  "My  alarm  was  simply 
from  superstition  based  on  ignorance !" 

Early  the  next  morning  I  visited  the 
agent's  office  and  had  an  interview  with  Chief 
Egan,  Oytes,  and  several  leading  Indians.  I 
noticed  then  how  superior  Egan  was  to  the 
others.  He  had  on  an  ordinary  farmer's  suit 
of  light  linen  duck  with  a  leather  belt  around 
his  waist,  a  sheath  holding  a  sheath-knife  by 
his  side.  He  wore  a  straw  hat  that  he  re 
moved  when  he  spoke  to  me.  He  had  all  the 
features  of  a  full-blooded  Indian,  but  wore 
no  braid  or  ornament.  His  hair,  parted  in 
the  middle,  was  cut  short  at  the  neck.  His 
pleasant  face  and  resonant  voice  were  mainly 
used,  that  morning,  in  praising  Major  Sam 
Parish,  and  in  telling  me  how  grateful  all 
the  Indians  were  that  the  Great  Father  had 
sent  them  such  an  honest  agent  and  good 
friend.  The  Indians  had  been  roaming  and 
269 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

wild  and  had  never  had  a  school  before  for 
the  numerous  children.  Now  they  had  a  beau 
tiful  school  and  a  mother  teacher  whom  all 
the  little  ones  loved ;  Mrs.  Parish,  the  teacher, 
and  Sarah,  the  interpreter,  made  all  this  very 
plain  to  me. 

In  1877  I  had  a  long-drawn-out  trouble 
with  Chief  Joseph  and  his  Nez  Perces,  from 
May  till  November.  Buffalo-Horn,  a  war- 
chief,  brought  me  from  Idaho  about  a  dozen 
of  his  Bannocks  to  help  my  soldiers  as  scouts. 
The  Piutes  under  Chief  Egan  also  refused  to 
help  my  enemies,  so  remained  at  Malheur 
and  improved  their  land  and  raised  good 
crops  upon  many  acres  of  it. 

Sometimes  during  my  long  march  in  pur 
suit  of  Joseph— a  march  of  over  1400  miles— 
Buffalo-Horn  became  dissatisfied  with  my 
officers  and  myself  because  we  would  not  let 
him  kill  two  friendly  Nez  Perces,  and  be 
cause  I  did  not  conduct  the  war  to  suit  him. 
270 


CHIEF  EGAN 

On  this  account  and  for  other  causes,  the 
next  year,  as  soon  as  the  bunch-grass  became 
green  and  abundant,  Buffalo-Horn  and  a 
body  of  Bannocks  began  a  dreadful  raid,  com 
ing  west  from  the  farthest  eastern  edge  of 
my  Department.  As  they  came  they  stole 
horses  and  cattle  and  destroyed  the  houses 
and  families  of  the  white  settlers  in  the  usual 
wild  Indian  way.  They  forced  to  join  them 
band  after  band  of  "Snakes,"  Columbia  In 
dians,  and  Piutes;  also  took  in  scattered 
families  of  the  Cayuses  and  Umatillas.  At 
the  Great  Stein  Mountain  in  southeast  Ore 
gon,  some  400  miles  from  the  place  of  start 
ing,  Buffalo-Horn's  Indians  under  a  new 
chief,  for  Buffalo-Horn  had  fallen  in  one  of 
his  battles  with  my  soldiers,  met  and  made 
an  agreement  with  the  Malheur  Indians  of 
Egan. 

Before  this,  on  the  first  of  May,  1876, 
everything  had  been  prosperous  at  Malheur, 
271 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

—the  children  all  at  school  and  the  fields  al 
ready  planted,  and  the  ditches  to  bring  water 
to  the  gardens  well  laid  out  and  dug,  and 
store-houses  and  stables  constructed.  The 
Indians,  old  and  young,  with  scarcely  an  ex 
ception,  were  well  and  contented. 

But  toward  the  last  of  the  month,  Major 
Parish  called  the  people  to  the  school-house 
and  then  amid  a  great  silence  he  said:  "I 
have  received  a  letter  from  our  Big  Father 
in  Washington  saying  another  man  is  to  come 
here  in  my  place.  You  must  do  just  as  he 
wants  you  to  do.  Go  right  along  just  as  you 
have  done  while  I  have  been  with  you." 

It  was  Einehart  who  was  coming.  He  had 
lived  in  Canyon  City  and  many  of  the  In 
dians  knew  him.  They  all  were  against  the 
change  of  agents.  Egan  went  to  Colonel 
Green  at  Camp  Harney  and  begged  him  to 
try  to  convince  the  Big  Father  to  let  Parish 
stay.  I  was  written  to  and  besought  to  stop 
272 


CHIEF  EGAN 

the  change  if  I  possibly  could.  Egan  and 
Oytes  declared  that  Rinehart  had  sold  many 
bottles  of  fire-water  to  the  Indians.  After 
the  new  agent  came  there  was  another  talk. 

Egan's  speech  at  this  time  is  on  record. 
It  is:  "Our  Father  (meaning  Rinehart),  we 
cannot  read;  we  don't  understand  anything; 
we  don't  want  the  Big  Father  in  Washington 
to  fool  with  us.  He  sends  one  man  to  say  one 
thing,  and  another  to  say  something  else. 
Major  Parish  told  us  the  land  was  ours,  and 
what  we  raised  on  it  would  be  ours.  You  say 
it  is  government  land  and  not  ours."  Egan 
called  Rinehart 's  attention  to  the  work  they 
had  done,  and  to  the  cruelty  of  taking  the 
land  and  the  crops  from  them,  etc.,  etc. 

Rinehart  at  once  became  angry  and  said: 
"Egan,  I  don't  care  whether  any  of  you  stay 
or  not.  You  can  all  go  if  you  do  not  like 
the  way  I  do!" 

Next,  all  went  to  work,  as  the  agent  had 
273 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

promised  to  pay  in  money  every  one  who 
worked  faithfully.  At  the  end  of  the  week 
they  came  to  Rinehart's  office  for  their  pay. 
He  at  once  estimated  the  value  of  blankets, 
coats,  trousers,  shoes,  socks,  woolen-shirts, 
handkerchiefs,  looking-glasses,  shawls,  calico, 
muslin,  sugar,  tea,  coffee,  etc.,  etc.  He  was 
going  to  pay  them  in  the  things  that  Uncle 
Sam  had  already  given  them. 

Egan  then  spoke  again:  "Why  do  you 
play  with  us!  We  are  men  and  not  chil 
dren;  but  never  say  you  are  going  to  pay 
us  in  money,  and  then  not  do  it!  I  do  not 
care  for  myself,  but  my  men  want  their  pay. 
Pay  them  in  money,  and  then  they  can  go  and 
buy  whatever  they  like:  our  Big  Father's 
goods  are  too  dear.  We  can  go  to  our  soldier 
fathers  and  get  better  blankets  than  yours 
for  half  the  price  you  charge. " 

Rinehart  became  more  angry  than  before 
and  said,  "If  you  don't  like  my  ways  you  can 
274 


CHIEF  EGAN 

all  leave  here.  I  never  allow  a  white  man  to 
talk  as  you  have.'7 

The  Indians  went  to  their  tepees  to  mourn 
and  talk  all  night.  Next  day,  to  make  mat 
ters  worse,  a  band  of  Piutes  came  who  were 
nearly  starving.  Einehart  curtly  refused  to 
give  them  a  mouthful.  The  morning  after, 
Einehart  saw  a  little  boy  who  did  not  under 
stand  English  innocently  laughing ;  he  seized 
him  by  the  ear  and  kicked  him  till  he  cried 
aloud  from  pain ;  and  he  told  the  Indians  that 
he  must  be  instantly  obeyed  or  he  would  treat 
them  as  he  did  the  boy,  who  had  not  carried 
a  message  as  he  told  him. 

Oh,  the  misunderstandings  and  heartburn 
ings  of  these  poor  people !  Chief  Egan  and 
his  best  men  appealed  from  the  decisions  of 
the  Indian  agent,  but  to  no  good  result,  for 
just  then  Uncle  Sam  was  trying  to  make  his 
red  children  work  for  all  they  had,  and  such 
an  agent  as  Einehart  made  their  tasks  as 
275 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

painful  and  difficult  as  possible.  Hatred  be 
got  hatred,  and  all  the  Indians  at  Malheur 
in  despair  went  off  to  live  by  hunting  and 
fishing  and  gathering  of  herbs  and  fruits,  as 
their  people  had  always  done. 

Months  after  the  Indians  left  Malheur  and 
Einehart,  it  was  on  Stein's  Mountain  that 
the  Bannocks  in  their  war-raid  came  upon 
hundreds  of  them.  '  *  Come,  go  with  us, ' '  they 
said,  "and  we  will  beat  the  white  soldiers, 
and  conquer  all  the  white  settlers  who  have 
our  lands,  and  be  rich  and  no  longer  poor." 
'  Chief  Egan  held  out  against  war  as  long 
as  he  could  get  a  hearing.  The  Indians  put 
him  aside  and  put  Oytes  at  the  head  of  the 
discontented  of  the  Piutes  for  a  time,  but 
after  long  reflection  and  the  saving  the  lives 
of  several  of  his  friends,  whites  and  red  men, 
Egan  at  last  consented  to  be  their  war-chief. 
He  commanded  in  several  battles,  but  was 
never  very  successful.  After  the  last  battle 
276 


CHIEF  EGAN 

of  the  Piute  and  Bannock  War  had  been 
fought,  Egan's  life  was  taken  by  Umapine, 
a  Umatilla  scout.  Umapine  was  a  cruel  and 
wicked  man,  and  did  not  live  long  after  that 
action  of  his  in  the  Blue  Hills  of  Oregon. 

Our  surgeon,  Doctor  Fitzgerald,  obtained 
from  Umapine  the  head  of  Chief  Egan  and 
sent  it  as  a  fine  specimen  of  an  Indian  head 
of  large  brain  to  the  Medical  Museum  in 
Washington.  The  Piutes  felt  keenly  this  last 
and  greatest  humiliation  that  their  much  loved 
chieftain's  head  should  have  such  a  dreadful 
and  ignoble  resting-place.  Egan  lost  his  wife 
and  two  children  in  war,  but  a  little  one  had 
remained  till  his  death  to  comfort  him. 

All  the  white  people  and  all  the  Indians 
spoke  well  of  Chief  Egan.  He  had  often  bor 
rowed  money  and  food  of  our  officers,  but 
always  repaid  what  he  borrowed.  He  was 
exceedingly  kind  to  his  niece  and  to  his 
youngest  child. 

277 


XVII 

LOT,  A  SPOKANE  CHIEF 

THE  Spokanes,  when  they  were  not  off  on 
a  buffalo-hunt  or  camping  here  and 
there  to  store  up  the  camass  roots  for  winter 
as  the  squirrels  store  up  beechnuts,  used  to 
live  along  the  banks  of  the  Spokane  River  in 
Washington  State.  This  river,  with  many 
falls  and  rapids,  flows  through  great  forests 
west  to  the  Columbia.  It  is  a  beautiful  land 
of  wooded  hills  and  fertile  valleys,  and  the  In 
dians  clung  to  it  with  great  fondness.  Here 
are  found  every  sort  of  game.  The  deer  run 
wild  in  the  natural  parks,  and  the  speckled 
trout  dart  up-stream,  shining  in  the  creeks 
and  rivulets. 

There  was  an  old  bridge  across  the  Spo 
kane,  and  as  I  rode  to  Fort  Colville,  escorted 
278 


LOT,  A  SPOKANE  CHIEF 

by  some  cavalry,  we  saw  an  open  field  covered 
with  Indian  lodges  just  to  our  right  as  we 
came  to  the  bridge.  There  were  ten  or  twelve 
lodges  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  Indians. 
Many  Indians  came  out  to  meet  us  on  the 
road,  and  I  called  to  one  of  them  in  English : 
' '  What  Indians  are  these  ? ' '  He  replied :  i  i  A 
band  of  Spokanes. ' '  The  leader  of  this  band 
was  Lot,  and  I  must  tell  you  about  him. 

Long  ago,  when  Lot  was  a  small  boy,  Mr. 
Eeles,  a  good  teacher,  came  to  live  among  the 
Spokanes,  just  as  in  1840  the  famous  Dr. 
Marcus  Whitman  went  to  teach  the  savage 
Cayuses.  The  Indians  called  this  teacher 
Father  Eeles,  and,  although  he  died  long  ago, 
they  still  speak  of  him  with  affection,  and 
white  people  name  roads  and  hamlets  for  him. 
Father  Eeles  loved  the  little  Indian  boy  who 
would  be  a  chief  some  day,  and  he  baptized 
him  and  called  him  Lot. 

Now  Lot  had  grown  to  be  a  fine,  tall  Indian 
279 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

chief,  over  six  feet  in  his  heelless  moccasins, 
and  but  for  his  braided  hair  and  the  blanket 
over  his  shoulders  you  would  have  taken  him 
for  an  old  hunter.  He  spoke  very  little  Eng 
lish,  and  was  very  modest,  but  Mr.  Campbell, 
the  Indian  agent,  brought  Lot  to  me  at  once, 
saying  as  he  did  so:  "Lot  is  a  splendid  In 
dian.  He  became  a  Christian  and  has  always 
tried  to  live  as  Father  Eeles  taught  him."  I 
took  a  fancy  to  Lot  immediately  and  asked 
him  why  his  band  were  here,  and  what  they 
were  doing,  and  he  told  me  that  one  of  his  In 
dian  girls  was  to  become  the  wife  of  a  squaw- 
man  who  lived  in  a  house  just  beyond  the 
bridge,  and  that  the  band  had  come  to  see  Mr. 
Campbell  marry  them. 

Now  a  white  man  who  marries  an  Indian 
woman  is  called  by  every  one  a  squaw-man, 
and  always  belongs  half  to  the  Indians  and 
half  to  the  white  people.  Lot  asked  if  I  would 
stay  for  the  wedding,  and  I  was  only  too  glad 
280 


LOT,  A  SPOKANE  CHIEF 

to  accept  his  invitation.  The  bride  was  a 
pretty  Indian  girl,  just  fourteen  years  old, 
and  she  came  out  of  one  of  the  lodges  with 
some  Indian  women  and  her  parents,  grand 
parents,  and  brothers  and  sisters. 

The  squaw-man,  Mr.  Walker,  was  about 
forty  years  old,  and  a  rather  rough-looking 
man  in  shabby  clothes.  He  came  across  the 
bridge  with  some  fine-looking  Indian  braves, 
and  I  could  not  help  wondering  why  the  little 
Indian  girl  had  not  chosen  one  of  them  for 
her  husband.  But  perhaps  she  thought  it  was 
grander  to  live  in  a  house  and  be  Mrs. 
Walker.  At  any  rate,  Mr.  Campbell,  after  a 
short  prayer,  had  them  hold  hands  while  he 
married  them,  and  then  all  the  Indians  sang 
one  of  our  hymns,  but  in  the  Spokane  lan 
guage.  After  the  wedding  we  went  on  to  Fort 
Colville,  and  the  next  time  I  saw  Lot  he  asked 
me  to  come  with  him  to  a  religious  service. 
Spokane  Williams,  one  of  his  band,  had  taken 
15  281 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

land  like  a  white  man  and  built  a  house.  To 
be  sure,  it  was  a  small  house  with  one  door 
and  no  windows,  but  he  was  proud  of  it,  and 
here  the  Christian  Indians  met.  There  was 
a  platform  at  one  end  where  we  were  to  sit, 
and  Mr.  Campbell  was  there  too.  All  the 
people  sat  on  the  hard  earth  floor,  men,  wo 
men,  children,  and  papooses  packed  in  like 
sardines.  This  service  was  a  preparation  for 
the  commemoration  of  our  Lord's  Supper, 
and  all  the  Indians  stood  up  and  told  what 
they  were  sorry  they  had  done.  One  big 
fellow  said  that  he  had  stolen  four  horses ;  but 
afterward  he  was  very  sad  and  took  them 
back  to  the  white  man  they  belonged  to,  and 
asked  his  forgiveness ;  so  the  white  man  said : 
"All  right,  John,"  and  then  he  was  happy 
again.  A  woman  said  she  had  told  an  un 
truth,  but  afterward  she  was  so  miserable  she 
had  to  go  and  ask  to  be  forgiven.  After  a 

while  an  old  Indian  woman  got  up  and  talked 

282 


LOT?  A  SPOKANE  CHIEF 

for  a  while,  but  Lot  stopped  her  and  told  her 
to  sit  down.  I  asked  Mr.  Campbell  what  they 
were  saying,  and  he  told  me  she  had  been  find 
ing  fault  with  her  neighbors,  but  the  chief 
said :  i '  You  may  tell  us  the  wrong  things  you 
have  done  yourself,  but  you  must  n't  tell  us 
the  bad  things  your  neighbors  have  been  do 
ing.  ' '  Lot  was  very  careful  to  make  the  peo 
ple  of  his  band  do  what  was  right. 

Now  Spokane  Garry  was  the  head  chief  of 
all  Spokane  Indians,  and  he  asked  me  to  meet 
him  at  an  Indian  Council.  Garry  was  a  small, 
pompous,  querulous  old  man,  not  at  all  like 
Lot.  He  spoke  English  very  loud  and  very 
fast,  and  was  hard  to  understand.  What  he 
wanted  me  to  know  was  that  the  Spokanes 
had  helped  the  white  settlers  much  more  than 
the  Nez  Perces,  and  he  thought  the  great 
Father  at  Washington  ought  to  treat  them  as 
well  and  give  them  a  reservation,  as  good  a 
one  as  the  Nez  Perces  had. 
283 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

I  told  him  I  wished  his  Indians  would  all 
build  houses  and  take  up  land  like  white  men. 
Spokane  Williams  of  Lot's  band  had  done  so, 
and  was  doing  well.  But  Garry  stopped  me 
and  said  that  white  men's  ways  were  not  In 
dians'  ways.  Indians  liked  to  go  from  place 
- — - — —  * "' 

to  place  and  take  their  lodges  with  them.  If 
they  lived  in  houses  they  must  stop  in  one 
place.  I  sent  his  request  to  Washington,  but 
he  died  before  there  was  any  reply,  and  Lot 
became  a  leader  and  guide  to  all  these  people. 
I  often  saw  Lot,  and  we  had  long  talks  about 
the  Indians.  He  moved  his  people  to  a  prai 
rie  land  where  there  was  good  water  and 
plenty  of  trees,  and  here  I  visited  him  and 
felt  as  safe  among  these  wild  people  as  I  do  in 
my  own  home.  But  Lot  always  said,  as  Garry 
did,  that  Indians  could  not  live  like  white 
men.  He  told  me  that  if  he  could  keep  them 
together  the  old  men  and  women  would  work 
while  the  young  men  could  hunt  partridges, 
284 


LOT,  A  SPOKANE  CHIEF 

wild  turkey,  and  deer,  but  if  they  tried  to  live 
as  white  men  no  one  would  work.  Every  time 
I  saw  Lot  he  talked  in  this  way  till  I  came  to 
believe  it  was  so,  and  when  President  Hayes 
and  General  Sherman  came  to  Oregon  I  told 
them  what  Lot  had  said  to  me,  and  asked  the 
President  to  give  these  Indians  some  land  for 
their  own.  General  Sherman  agreed  with  me 
that  this  would  be  the  best  thing  for  every 
body,  and  the  President  signed  a  paper  order 
ing  enough  land  to  be  set  aside  for  all  the  Spo 
kane  people.  So  Lot  had  his  wish. 

Some  months  afterward,  when  the  Presi 
dent  sent  me  orders  to  leave  Washington  Ter 
ritory  and  go  to  West  Point,  New  York,  Lot 
in  his  far-off  reservation  heard  that  I  was  go 
ing.  He  mounted  his  pony  and  with  some  of 
his  braves  rode  three  hundred  miles  to  beg 
me  to  stay.  He  arrived  in  Portland,  Oregon, 
just  as  I  was  going  on  board  the  ocean 
steamer,  anchored  in  the  Willamette  River, 
285 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

which  was  to  take  me  to  San  Francisco.  Lot 
was  too  excited  to  speak  much  English,  but  he 
found  his  way  to  my  state-room  and,  big  giant 
that  he  was,  took  me  in  his  arms  as  if  I  were  a 
small  boy,  saying, ' '  No,  no !  you  not  go !  You 
stay  here  and  we  have  peace ! ' ' 

Of  course  I  could  not  stay,  and  after  a  while 
Lot  understood  that  where  the  President  sent 
me  I  must  go,  but  we  parted  as  if  we  were  in 
deed  brothers,  and  this  noble  Indian  went 
back  to  his  tribe  to  teach  them  what  was  best 
in  life  and  to  continue  his  good  work  for  his 
people. 


286 


XVIII 

BED  CLOUD 

FAR  away  in  Wyoming  lived  the  Sioux  In 
dians,  a  fierce  and  warlike  tribe.  They 
called  themselves  Dakotas ;  but  their  enemies 
said  that  when  they  fought  they  did  every 
thing  in  a  mean,  hidden  way  so  that  it  was 
hard  to  know  what  to  expect,  and  they  called 
them  Sioux,  which  means  "  snake-like-ones. " 
To  this  tribe  belonged  a  young  brave  who 
wanted  very  much  to  become  a  chief.  His 
father  was  a  fierce  warrior  and  had  taught 
him  how  to  fight,  but  he  was  not  satisfied  to 
follow  the  leaders  of  his  tribe,  for  he  wanted 
to  lead  other  Indians  himself.  When  this 
young  man  was  only  eighteen  years  old  he 
had  already  learned  to  use  the  bow,  could 
ride  Indian  ponies  and  swim  deep  rivers,  and 
287 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

was  a  great  buffalo-hunter ;  besides,  he  often 
danced  in  war  dances  with  older  braves.  In 
some  way  he  managed  to  get  a  rifle  which 
fired  several  times  without  reloading,  and 
after  that  he  began  to  feel  of  much  more  im 
portance  than  other  young  Indians. 

At  first  the  young  braves  were  angry  with 
him,  but  he  soon  showed  them  that  he  was  a 
skilful  warrior,  and  before  long  many  young 
Indians  chose  him  for  their  leader.  Now  he 
could  wear  an  eagle  feather  in  his  war  bon 
net,  and  was  a  real  chief. 

At  this  time  Uncle  Sam  had  promised  to 
give  each  Indian  a  good  blanket,  and  they 
were  glad  to  get  them.  The  blankets  were  all 
bright  red,  and  when  this  young  Indian  and 
his  followers,  each  wearing  a  red  blanket, 
rode  rapidly  past,  some  one  said,  "See  the 
Bed  Cloud."  From  that  time  on  the  young 
leader  was  called  ' l  Eed  Cloud, ' '  and  so  far  as 
I  know  was  never  after  given  any  other  name. 
288 


RED  CLOUD 

The  Sioux  Indians  have  a  wonderful  festi 
val  which  they  call  the  sun  dance.  At  this 
time  all  the  braves  try  to  show  how  much  pain 
they  can  bear  without  flinching,  and  some 
people  say  it  makes  them  tender-hearted. 
Certainly  "Red  Cloud"  always  could  bear 
more  than  any  other  warrior,  and  yet  his 
heart  was  fierce  and  warlike.  In  time  the  In 
dians  came  to  fear  him,  and  little  by  little  he 
was  chosen  war  chief  of  all  the  wild  Dakotas 
or  Sioux.  He  hated  the  white  people,  and 
when  other  Indians  tried  to  make  peace  Red 
Cloud  always  said:  "No;  war,  war!"  Per 
haps  he  knew  that  just  as  soon  as  there  was 
peace  he  would  no  longer  be  a  chief,  at  any 
rate,  he  would  not  listen  to  any  plan  to  stop 
fighting. 

Fort  Phil  Kearny  in  Wyoming  was  in  the 

middle  of  the  Indians '  country.     One  day 

word  came  to  the  major  there  that  a  party  of 

soldiers  who  had  gone  to  get  firewood  had 

291 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

been  attacked,  and  some  were  killed,  the  rest 
in  great  danger.  The  major  at  once  sent  out 
a  rescue  party  under  Captain  Fetterman,  but 
Bed  Cloud  was  waiting  with  two  thousand 
warriors,  and  not  one  white  man  escaped. 

Nobody  could  say  now  that  Bed  Cloud  was 
not  a  great  leader,  and  even  Uncle  Sam,  how 
ever  much  he  feared  him,  had  to  confess  that 
he  was  "  Chief  of  all  the  living  Sioux  Indi 
ans.  "  All  the  Sioux  chiefs  whose  fathers 
had  been  chiefs  before  them  were  willing  to 
give  some  Indian  lands  to  the  white  people 
and  live  on  a  reservation,  but  Red  Cloud  said : 
"No,  no;  I  want  war,"  and  the  young  war 
riors  followed  him  in  spite  of  the  chiefs. 
He  had  many  battles  and  would  not  stop 
fighting. 

At  last,  in  1874,  the  Indians  came  to  one  of 

Uncle  Sam's  army  posts  for  a  "big  talk.7'    A 

Christian  gentleman  opened  the  talk  with  a 

prayer,  and  when  he  finished  Red  Cloud  said 

292 


RED  CLOUD 

that  the  Indians  prayed  to  the  Great  Spirit 
too,  so  he  would  pray.  Then  he  asked  the 
Great  Spirit  to  forbid  the  white  men  taking 
away  the  Indians'  land,  and  from  wickedly 
destroying  their  homes  where  they  and  their 
fathers  had  lived  for  years  and  years.  It  was 
a  wonderful  prayer,  and  when  Red  Cloud  sat 
down,  every  one  kept  very  still,  for  they  did 
not  know  what  to  say.  Well,  after  the  big 
talk,  the  Indians  agreed  to  give  up  the  land 
they  had  fought  for,  and  went  to  live  on  what 
was  called  "Red  Cloud  Reservation. "  But 
still  peace  did  not  come.  They  were  always 
ready  to  break  out,  and  every  once  in  a 
while  houses  were  burned,  stages  waylaid, 
and  people  killed.  It  was  no  use  to  wish  for 
peace  so  long  as  Red  Cloud  wanted  war. 

At  last,  after  many  years,  the  war  chief  be 
gan  to  feel  that  he  could  not  win  his  fight,  so 
very    sadly    he    buried    his    tomahawk    and 
signed  what  he  called  "a  peace  paper."    But 
293 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

he  did  not  really  love  his  white  brothers,  and 
when  Uncle  Sam  wanted  Indian  scouts  to 
help  him  fight  in  1876,  Red  Cloud  was  angry, 
and  sent  some  of  his  warriors  to  waylay  the 
soldiers  and  Indian  scouts.  Then  Uncle  Sam 
said  that  Red  Cloud  could  not  expect  to  be  a 
chief  if  he  did  such  things,  for  the  officers 
found  that  he  was  always  planning  to  make 
trouble,  and  they  put  Spotted  Tail,  a  chief 
who  was  frank  and  honest,  in  Red  Cloud's 
place.  But  what  good  did  that  do  when  the 
young  Indians  loved  Red  Cloud  and  did  what 
he  said?  And  he  kept  them  from  working 
with  their  hands,  and  said  braves  must  only 
hunt  and  fight,  and  would  not  try  to  keep 
peace  or  help  Spotted  Tail. 

Then  at  last,  when  Red  Cloud  was  a  very 
old  man,  more  than  eighty  years  old,  he  was 
sick  for  the  first  time  in  his  life.  He  had  to 
stay  in  his  lodge  and  be  taken  care  of,  for  he 
was  too  weak  to  move.  Now  he  began  to  no- 
294 


Red  Cloud 


RED  CLOUD 

tice  how  kind  every  one  was  to  him  when  he 
could  do  nothing  for  himself,  and  his  heart 
was  softened.  When  he  was  able  to  be  up 
again  and  to  go  out  into  the  woods,  he  was 
very  happy,  and  began  to  be  sorry  for  people 
who  were  not  strong  and  well,  though  before 
he  was  sick  he  had  always  despised  them. 

He  saw  how  Uncle  Sam  was  trying  to  take 
care  of  everybody  in  this  big  country  of  ours, 
and  he  said,  "Indians  must  take  land  like 
white  men,  they  must  work  with  a  plow  and 
hoe,  and  they  must  read  books  and  study/' 
Then  there  was  peace  in  the  north  land,  for 
the  fiercest  of  all  our  Indian  warriors  had 
really  surrendered. 


297 


XIX 

SITTING-BULL,    THE    GREAT    DAKOTA    LEADER 

TWO  of  our  States,  as  boys  and  girls 
know  from  their  geography,  are  called 
Dakota,— one  North  Dakota,  the  other  South 
Dakota,  and  this  was  also  the  name  of  Indian 
people  of  different  tribes  speaking  the  same 
language,  who  lived  in  the  country  north  of 
the  great  Platte  River,  and  between  and 
along  our  two  greatest  rivers,  the  Missouri 
and  the  Mississippi.  The  word  Dakota 
means  united  by  compact,  and  there  were 
several  united  tribes  who  called  themselves 
the  Dakotas. 

Sitting-Bull    was    a    Dakota    Indian.      He 
was   born  near  an   old   army   station,   Fort 
George,  on  Willow  Creek,  and  his  father  was 
298 


SITTING-BULL 

Jumping-Bull.  The  Indian  chiefs  are  very 
fond  of  giving  boys  new  names  when  they 
begin  to  do  something  which  their  friends 
notice.  If  a  boy  runs  fast  with  his  head  up, 
they  call  him  "The  Elk/'  "The  Deer,"  "The 
Wild  Horse,"  or  some  such  name.  Or  per 
haps  if  he  has  quick  or  sly  ways,  they  name 
him  "The  Fox,"  "The  Wolf,"  or  "The 
Coyote." 

In  North  Dakota,  at  this  time,  there  were 
great  herds  of  buffalo,— and  the  largest  of 
them  were  the  bulls.  These  were  the  leaders 
when  a  herd  was  running,  swimming  a  river, 
or  jumping  across  a  gully.  Even  when  a  lad, 
Sitting-Bull's  father  could  hunt  for  buffaloes, 
and  quickly  jump  the  deep  gullies  so  frequent 
in  that  country,  always  with  his  bow  in  his 
hand,  so  his  uncle,  an  Indian  chief,  named 
him  Jumping-Bull. 

His  son  was  a  strange  boy.  His  hair  was 
straight  like  an  Indian,  but  of  a  reddish- 
299 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

brown  color.  His  head  was  very  large  and 
his  features  were  more  regular  in  form  than 
that  of  the  Indian.  He  was  so  odd  in  his 
looks  and  his  ways,*  keeping  much  by  himself, 
thinking  and  planning  how  best  to  have  his 
own  way,  that  his  father  named  him  when 
quite  young,  " Sacred  Stand." 

Once,  at  ten  years  of  age,  he  went  with 
some  hunters  on  a  wild  chase  for  buffaloes 
and  came  back  to  his  father's  wigwam  very 
happy  and  proud,  for  he  had  succeeded  in 
killing  a  buffalo-calf;  but  he  did  not  have  a 
new  name  till  four  years  later.  Then  he 
waylaid  an  Indian,  an  enemy  of  his  people, 
and  shot  him  with  an  arrow.  As  soon  as  he 
saw  that  his  foe  could  never  rise  again,  he 
crept  up  to  his  head  and  cut  off  the  top  por 
tion  of  the  skin  with  the  hair  belonging  to 
it.  This  "  scalp, "  about  as  large  as  a  silver 
dollar,  he  tied  to  his  belt  and  carried  to  his 
home,  full  of  joy  and  triumph,  for  he  was 
300 


SITTING-BULL 

now  a  Brave  among  braves.  After  this  he 
frequently  made  drawings  of  his  totem,  what 
we  might  call  his  family  coat-of-arms.  This 
was  a  buffalo-bull  settled  back  on  his 
haunches  in  a  sitting  posture,  and  from  it 
the  boy  was  named  "Sitting-Bull." 

His  second  great  feat  was  when  he  met  a 
Crow  Indian  traveling  along  a  trail  claimed 
by  the  Dakotas.  The  Crow  Indian  was  rid 
ing  a  horse,  and  had  by  his  side,  on  another 
horse,  his  wife,  with  a  baby  strapped  to  her 
back.  Sitting-Bull,  on  an  Indian  pony, 
charged  this  little  cavalcade,  succeeded  in 
killing  all  three  without  getting  a  scratch, 
and  made  a  rough  picture  of  the  exploit 
which  he  showed  to  his  young  companions. 

Chief  Red  Cloud  had  led  the  Indians  in 
1868  at  the  time  when  a  large  number  of  our 
men  fell  in  battle  near  Fort  Phil  Kearny,  and 
after  that  trouble  a  scout  picked  up  an  old 
roster-book  which  had  once  belonged  to  a 
16  301 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

company  of  our  soldiers.  On  its  blank  pages 
Sitting-Bull  had  made  skeleton  pictures,  and 
each  picture  showed  some  wicked  deed.  The 
pictures  were  ridiculous  enough,  but  they 
made  a  fairly  good  diary,  and  the  meaning 
could  not  be  mistaken.  Nearly  every  record 
in  the  book  was  a  sketch  of  Sitting-Bull  and 
his  victims.  Sometimes  he  was  killing  white 
men,  sometimes  Indians,  sometimes  stealing 
and  driving  off  herds  of  horses.  A  man's 
figure  with  a  tall  hat  was  enough  to  mean  a 
white  citizen,  an  uncouth  bonnet  showed  a 
woman,  stiff  outlines  gave  Indian  war 
feathers  or  a  soldier's  costume,  and  the  book 
was  a  curious  record  of  years  when  Sitting- 
Bull  was  a  famous  brave  and  a  cruel,  bad 
Indian. 

Uncle   Sam  was  greatly  disturbed  about 

"The  Black  Hills "  of  South  Dakota  at  this 

time.    Some  white  men,  roaming  through  the 

hills,  found  signs  of  gold.    They  began  to  dig 

302 


SITTING-BULL 

up  the  surface  of  the  ground  in  many  spots 
and  to  make  deep  holes  and  were  sure  there 
were  large  mines  of  gold  there.  The  Dakotas 
insisted  that  these  Hills  all  belonged  to  them. 
But  the  white  men  said  that  the  Indians  did 
not  own  "the  whole  earth,"  and  tried  hard 
to  have  the  Indians  sent  away.  This  made 
Sitting-Bull  very  angry.  He  hated  the  white 
men  more  and  more.  He  brought  together 
thousands  of  Indians  who  were  full  of  dis 
content  and  wanted  to  drive  all  white  men 
from  their  country.  A  new  band  of  Indians 
he  formed  and  named  "  Strong-hearts. " 
These  he  brought  from  eight  or  ten  tribes  of 
the  Dakotas  to  a  queer  place  in  Montana, 
called  "The  Bad  Lands. "  There  were  such 
deep  gullies  in  clayey  soil  all  around  that 
neither  horses  nor  buffaloes  could  leap  over 
them,  and  this  was  Sitting-Bull's  stronghold. 
He,  himself,  did  not  often  go  out  to  battle, 
for  he  was  a  medicine-man,  not  a  warrior. 
303 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

He  would  shut  the  flaps  of  his  wigwam  and 
stay  hours,  and  sometimes  days,  inside,  do 
ing  what  he  called  " making  medicine/'  He 
told  the  Indians  that  a  powerful  Spirit  came 
to  him  at  such  times  and  gave  him  knowledge 
and  orders. 

He  had  influence  with  the  wildest  Indian 
chiefs  because  they  had  a  strange  fear  of 
medicine-men.  They  thought  him  a  great 
prophet  and  teacher;  with  their  bravest  sol 
diers  they  went  out  from  the  Bad  Lands  as 
from  a  great  fort,  when  he  told  them  to,  and 
fought  many  successful  battles  with  our  men. 

At  last  in  1876  General  Terry,  General 
Crook,  and  General  Gibbon,  with  forces,  from 
three  different  directions  marched  against 
Sitting-Bull  and  his  "hostiles,"  who,  about 
that  time,  came  down  from  the  Bad  Lands 
and  camped  in  four  or  five  large  villages  with 
men,  women,  and  children.  His  own  village 
was  near  the  middle  of  the  great  multitude 
304 


SITTING-BULL 

of  wigwams.  He  declared  that  he  had  had  a 
dream — vision,  and  that  he  had  seen  in  the 
vision  soldiers  coming.  This  soon  came  true 
and  first  came  General  Crook's  troops  from 
the  south,  but  the  Indians  were  so  many  the 
general  stopped  and  waited  for  more  soldiers. 
Next  came  some  of  Terry's  and  Ouster's  men 
from  the  east.  The  Indians  were  now  much 
excited,  the  women  and  children  were  hurried 
off  westward  to  safer  grounds,  and  the  war 
riors  rushed  pell-mell  to  meet  the  soldiers. 
The  Indians  wounded  many,  killed  many, 
and  drove  the  rest  to  the  bluffs  above  the 
Little  Big  Horn  River. 

After  this  Sitting-Bull  in  his  wigwam, 
"making  his  medicine"  and  talking  to  the 
Spirit,  heard  the  news  of  General  Ouster's 
rapid  charge  up  the  slopes  toward  the  vil 
lages,  and  all  Indian  warriors  say  he  was 
dreadfully  afraid.  He  had  his  "Strong- 
hearts"  all  around  him,  but  his  own  heart 
305 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

did  not  remain  strong.  They  say  as  soon  as 
he  heard  that ' '  Long-Hair ' '  Ouster  was  com 
ing  fast  and  furious,  in  great  haste  he  took 
his  family,  mounted  them  on  ponies,  and, 
jumping  upon  his  own  horse,  galloped  to 
the  west,  till  he  had  reached  a  place  of  safety. 
Now  he  sent  out  many  Indian  warriors,  ten 
to  one,  against  Ouster's  brave  men,  and  the 
Indians  got  around  them  and  fought  till  not 
one  soldier  was  left  alive  after  the  great  bat 
tle  called  '  *  Ouster 's  Massacre. ' '  But  Sitting- 
Bull  was  miles  away.  After  a  time  he  re 
turned  to  his  village  because  he  had  missed 
one  of  his  twin-children,  and  when  he  reached 
his  wigwam  he  found  the  child  that  he  so 
much  loved.  The  sounds  of  battle  grew  less 
and  less  and  the  conflict  was  over,  but  Sitting- 
Bull  lost  the  good-will  of  his  big  chiefs  be 
cause  he  was  not  there  to  share  the  danger 
and  direct  them  when  the  storm  was  fiercest. 
His  followers  named  the  twins  in  fun  "The- 
306 


SITTING-BULL 

One-Taken, "  and  "  The-One-Left, "  and  they 
long  lived  to  remind  the  Indians  of  their 
father  speeding  away  from  his  greatest  bat 
tle-field. 

After  the  battle  the  whole  United  States 
Army  was  sent  to  break  up  the  Indian  strong 
holds  in  and  near  the  Bad  Lands.  The  ablest 
warrior  chiefs,  Gall,  Spotted  Eagle,  Lone 
Wolf,  Lame  Deer,  and  Crazy  Horse  were  at 
last  killed  or  conquered.  And  it  was  not 
long  before  Sitting-Bull  and  his  "Strong- 
hearts,"  full  of  hatred  and  discontent,  fled 
across  the  Canada  line,  where  they  were  safe 
from  attack.  The  other  Indians  who  had 
fought  and  been  beaten  now  went  to  the  near 
est  Indian  reservation,  and  for  a  time  there 
was  peace  among  the  Dakotas. 

At  last  Sitting-Bull  succeeded  in  get 
ting  back  to  the  Grand  Eiver  in  North  Da 
kota,  where  he  had  a  rough,  but  comfortable, 
house  with  some  of  his  family.  But  it  was 
307 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

not  long  before  the  wide-awake  Indian 
Agents  and  officers  of  the  army  found  that 
Sitting-Bull  was  sending  messages  from 
camp-to  camp  and  getting  ready  for  another 
defiance  of  Uncle  Sam's  great  army.  They 
heard  of  ghost  dances,  but  the  real  danger 
was  from  the  plans  of  Sitting-Bull,  plotting 
and  mapping  out  another  fearful  outbreak  of 
savage  Indians. 

In  December,  1890,  General  Ruger  was 
commanding  the  department  of  Dakota.  He 
was  living  at  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  where 
were  his  headquarters.  Here  he  heard  that 
Sitting-Bull  was  fretful,  sullen,  and  secretly 
reorganizing  the  "  Strong-hearts. "  Then 
General  Rugbr  telegraphed  the  commander 
at  Fort  Yates,  near  Standing  Rock,  to  have 
Sitting-Bull  arrested.  The  Indian  Agent 
asked  it  as  a  favor  that  his  forty  Indian  po 
licemen  might  make  the  arrest.  They  pro 
ceeded  to  his  lodge,  found  him  asleep,  awak- 
308 


"He  came  out  wild  with  anger" 


SITTING-BULL 

ened  him,  and  forced  him  to  come  out.  He 
came  out  wild  with  anger  and  called  for  his 
warriors  to  join  him;  one  of  the  Indian 
policemen  took  his  gun  and  ran  toward  Sit 
ting-Bull.  Then  firing  began.  Bull-Head, 
the  chief  of  the  policemen,  was  shot  in  the 
leg.  He  turned  and  fired  at  Sitting-Bull  and 
other  policemen  did  the  same.  Sitting-Bull 
did  not  live  to  speak  another  word,  but  the 
warriors  kept  fighting  till  the  soldiers,  near 
at  hand,  rode  up  and  put  an  end  to  the  affair. 
To  look  at  Sitting-Bull  one  would  say  that 
he  was  always  quiet  and  self-contained.  In 
fact  he  did  usually  keep  himself  under  con 
trol  ;  but  he  was  cruel  and  almost  heartless. 
He  had  practised  cruelty  to  animals  and  men 
from  his  childhood,  arid  as  long  as  he  lived; 
he  was  full  of  passion,  and  often  very  angry. 
He  was  always  imperious  and  insolent  toward 
our  generals,  the  Indian  Agent,  and  other 
friends  of  the  Great  Father  at  Washington, 
311 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

whom  he  claimed  to  hate.  He  had  great 
talent  and  ability  to  plan  campaigns  and  bat 
tles,  wonderful  influence  in  bringing  them 
together,  and  mostly  the  discontented  and 
criminals  of  every  tribe  of  his  nation  flocked 
to  his  standard.  Notwithstanding  all  this, 
as  if  conscious  of  a  wir-^ed  heart  and  fearing 
some  punishment,  he  wa  ^  afra-d  of  death,  and 
aiways  terrified  when  defeat  stared  him  in 
the  face.  Though  he  planned  the  greatest 
victory  which  the  Indiana  ever  gained  over 
white  men,  Sitting-Bull  himself  was  a  coward, 
and  disgraced  hirr»seii?  even  before  his  own 
people  by  running  awsy  in  the  very  face  of 
success. 


312 


XX 


WASHAKIE,  A  SHOSHONE  CHIEF,  THE  FRIEND  OF 
THE  WHITE  MAN 

THE  Sho  shone  Indians  lived  long  ago  in 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  but  they  have 
gradually  moved  westward  until  now  they 
live  on  the  western  side,  where  there  are  two 
wonderful  springs  which  send  water  east 
ward  and  westward  to  flow  into  our  two  great 
oceans.  The  water  from  one  flows  through 
the  Yellowstone  Park  to  the  Missouri  River, 
and  then  by  way  of  the  Mississippi  and  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean;  while 
the  other  one  flows  westward  into  the  Snake 
River  and  follows  its  many  windings  till  at 
last  it  joins  the  Columbia,  and  after  passing 
313 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

the  cascades,  flows  smoothly  for  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  till  it  reaches .  the  Pacific 
Ocean. 

Because  these  Indians  live  along  the  banks 
of  the  winding  Snake  River  they  are  some 
times  called  "Snakes,"  but  Shoshone  is  their 
Indian  name. 

As  long  ago  as  1836  Washington  Irving 
tells  us  that  Captain  Bonneville  met  Sho 
shone  Indians  on  his  way  to  the  Pacific  Coast. 

Even  then  the  chiefs  came  together,  smoked 

- 

the  peace  pipe,  burying  their  tomahawks  and 
made  up  their  minds  to  be  good,  peaceable 
Indians. 

A  tribe  of  Indians  usually  takes  its  charac 
ter  from  the  head  chief.  If  he  is  a  man  who 
cares  for  his  people,  thinks  for  them,  and 
leads  them,  then  they  follow  and  do  what  he 
says. 

Washakie  was  such  a  chief,  and  his  people 
loved  and  followed  him.  He  had  a  large 
314 


WASHAKIE 

country,  four  hundred  miles  square,  called  the 
Wind  Eiver  Beservation,  and  here  he 
grouped  his  Indians  in  small  villages  about  a 
beautiful  spring  of  hot  water  which  always 
flowed.  At  his  request  Uncle  Sam  had  an 
army  post  near  by,  and  for  many  years  Wa- 
shakie  had  chosen  to  be  the  friend  of  the 
white  man. 

Washakie  was  a  tall,  big  man  with  fine  eyes 
and  a  great  deal  of  hair.  He  spoke  broken 
English,  but  could  make  himself  understood. 
He  was  a  great  eater,  and  it  was  always  a 
mystery  to  me  how  one  Indian  could  eat  so 
much.  He  ate  very  politely,  but  it  was  like  a 
giant  taking  his  food.  Washakie  said:  "I 
like  meat,  I  like  bread,  I  like  vegetables ;  I  am 
big,  so  I  eat  much."  And  indeed  he  did, 
enough  for  two  or  three  white  men.  He  was 
a  great  buffalo-hunter,  and  usually  wore  a 
fox-skin  robe  which  was  very  becoming  to 
him,  but  before  he  sat  down  to  eat  he  always 
315 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

took  off  this  outer  fur  coat,  which  he  did  not 
need  except  in  the  open  air. 

The  country  where  these  Indians  lived  was 
very  cold  indeed.  One  of  the  stage-drivers, 
John  Hanson,  always  tied  shawls  around  his 
legs  before  he  started  on  a  trip,  and  he  told 
me  once  that  Bill  Snooks,  who  drove  the  stage 
before  he  took  it,  froze  both  his  legs  when  it 
was  thirty  degrees  below  zero,  and  that  was 
nothing  unusual ;  so  the  Indians  were  glad  to 
wear  furs  to  keep  them  warm. 

Now  there  was  a  great  deal  of  gold  in  the 
mountains  where  these  Indians  lived,  and 
Sioux,  Shoshones,  Cheyennes,  Crows,  and 
others  all  agreed  to  sell  their  land,  which  was 
valuable  for  mining,  to  our  government,  and 
go  where  there  was  no  gold,  but  good  water 
and  plenty  of  game. 

"Washington"  agreed  to  pay  the  Indians 
for  their  land,  and  they  moved  away  as  they 
had  promised,  but  the  money  did  not  come. 


- 


He  told  me  of  Ins  latest  battle" 


WASHAKIE 

The  Indians  all  around  Washakie  had  been 
sometimes  friends  to  the  white  men  and  some 
times  not,  but  when  the  money  did  not  come 
they  were  ready  to  fight.  They  said:  "You 
white  men  do  not  keep  your  pj^noises."  Wa 
shakie  was  the  only  one  who  seemed  to  under 
stand  that  Washington  was  far  away,  and 
that  the  money  must  be  voted  by  Congress  be 
fore  it  could  be  paid.  He  would  not  fight,  so 
the  other  Indians  were  angry  with  him,  and  a 
band  of  Crows  attacked  Washakie  and  his  In 
dians.  Now  Washakie  was  a  friend  to  white 
men,  but  he  met  the  Crows  in  battle,  drove 
them  northward,  and  they  were  glad  to  run 
away  as  fast  as  they  could,  leaving  their  lodge 
poles  behind  them;  so  you  see  he  could  fight 
when  he  had  to. 

I  often  met  this  good  Chief  and  we  were 
fast  friends.    Once  when  I  went  through  the 
Yellowstone  Park  he  told  me  of  his  latest  bat 
tle.    The  Sioux  Indians  had  been  determined 
319 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

to  break  the  power  of  the  Shoshones,  to  de 
feat  them  in  battle,  and  carry  them  off  cap 
tive.  Led  by  young  Bed  Cloud,  the  son  of  the 
famous  war  chief,  a  band  of  Sioux  came  upon 
Washakie,  but  he  had  so  drilled  his  men  that 
they  held  every  pass  through  the  mountains, 
and  fought  so  hard  that  the  Sioux  were 
obliged  to  give  up,  particularly  as  their  young 
chief,  Red  Cloud,  fell  in  the  last  attack. 
Washakie  received  praise  from  the  Indian 
department  for  the  ability  with  which  he  kept 
his  Indians  together,  and  the  help  he  gave 
our  officers  and  soldiers. 

He  was  always  glad  to  see  me,  and  in  the 
Yellowstone  Park  sent  Shoshone  Jack  with  a 
band  of  Indians  to  ride  just  out  of  sight  on  all 
sides  of  us  as  a  guard.  We  were  as  safe  in 
that  wild  country  with  them  around  us  as  we 
would  have  been  anywhere  else  in  America. 

When  Washakie  was  old,  and  his  hair  was 
very  white,  his  eldest  son,  Washakie,  was 
320 


WASHAKIE 

killed,  not  in  battle  but  in  a  drinking-place. 
Some  one  gave  him  whisky,  and  when  he  was 
drunk  he  had  a  fight  with  a  white  man  and 
was  killed.  Then  the  old  Chief  Washakie  cov 
ered  his  head  and  refused  to  be  comforted. 
He  said:  "My  Indians  have  always  been 
good.  They  are  not  lazy  like  the  Arapa- 
hoes  who  drink  whisky.  [The  Shoshones  have 
a  great  contempt  for  the  Arapahoes.]  And 
my  son  is  dead.  For  him  to  die  in  battle 
would  have  made  me  sad,  but  for  him  to  die 
like  an  Arapahoe  Indian  breaks  my  heart. " 
For  a  long  time  he  grieved,  and  ever  after 
ward  kept  his  head  covered  to  remind  himself 
and  his  friends  of  his  deep  sorrow,  not  be 
cause  his  son  was  gone,  but  because  he  had 
passed  away  in  disgrace,  as  no  Shoshone  In 
dian  should,  to  the  Spirit  Land. 


17 


321 


XXI 

HOMILI,  CHIEF  OF  THE  WALLA  WALLAS 

HOMILI,  the  chief  of  the  Walla  Wallas, 
lived  in  two  places:  a  part  of  each 
year  on  the  Umatilla  Eeserve  with  the  Uma- 
tillas,  Cayuses,  and  other  Columbia  Eiver  In 
dians  who  were  willing  to  stay  there  with  the 
government  agent;  and  part  of  the  year,  in 
deed,  the  greater  part  of  it,  at  what  he  called 
his  home  just  above  the  steamboat  landing 
near  the  hamlet  of  Wallula. 

On  the  Umatilla  Eeserve^  Homili  had  good 
land,  pasturage  aH  around  for  his  ponies,  and 
a  good  farm-house.  He  could  raise  wheat 
and  vegetables,  too.  in  plenty  when  he  could 
make  his  tillicums  (children  and  followers) 
work  for  him.  But  Homili  was  lazy  and  shift- 
322 


HOMILI 

less,  and  just  managed  to  say  "Yes,  yes,"  to 
the  good  agent,  Mr.  Cornoyer,  and  to  keep  a 
poor  garden-plot,  and  let  Ms  many  ponies 
run  about  with  the  herds  of  horses  which  be 
longed  to  other  Indians.  Homili  was  always 
fat  and  hearty,  and  he  loved  best  his  queer 
home  just  above  Wallula.  More  than  ten 
miles  broad  is  the  strip  of  sand  and  gravel 
along  the  Columbia  on  the  south  side  above 
and  below  Wallula;  the  first  time  I  saw 
Homili  he  met  me  at  the  steamboat  landing. 
He  had  with  him  four  or  five  very  poorly 
dressed  Indians,  wearing  very  long,,  black, 
uncombed  hair.  Homili  was  dressed  up  for 
the  occasion.  He  had  on  a  cast-off  army  uni 
form  buttoned  to  his  throat,  and  an  old  stove 
pipe  hat  which  had  long  since  seen  its  best 
days.  I  wondered  then  how  Homili  could 
have  found  an  officer's  coat  big  enough  for 
him,  for  while  he  was  not  a  tall  man  he  had 
so  thickened  up  and  broadened  out  that  he 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

looked  shorter  than  he  was.  One  of  his  tilli- 
cums  could  talk  English  a  little  and  the  mis 
erable  Chenook  jargon  a  good  deal.  He  called 
all  food  "mucky-milk,"  and  used  many  queer 
words.  He  was  the  interpreter.  Homili  took 
me  in  at  a  glance :  i '  Heap  good.  Arm  gone. 
Tillicum's  friend. "  Homili 's  interpreter  so 
delivered  to  me  his  first  message.  I  said  I 
was  glad  to  see  Chief  Homili.  He  and  I 
would  be  friends ! 

Homili  wheezed  and  stammered,  while  he 
laughed  aloud.  Homili  always  laughed. 
' '  Heap  glad  for  such  friend.  Come  over  yon 
way  and  see  my  house  and  my  tillicums. 
Homili  has  good  heart,  but  poor  house."  In 
deed  his  lodge,  where  torn  canvas  was  flying 
in  the  wind  about  some  crooked  lodge-poles, 
and  where  squaws  and  children  were  hanging 
listless  and  idle  near  the  opening,  was  a  poor 
house.  The  wind  was  blowing  as  it  always 
did  near  Wallula.  The  sky  was  clear  and  it 
324 


HOMILI 

was  a  bright,  comfortable  day  in  June.  My 
aide,  Captain  Boyle,  was  with  me,  and  we 
went  on  to  Homili's  lodge.  He  had  around 
him  without  any  order  rough,  poverty- 
stricken  lodges  or  wigwams  of  different  sizes 
and  shapes.  His  people  with  straight,  black, 
coarse,  dishevelled  hair,,  and  ragged  clothing 
to  match,  appeared  to  my  inspection  about  as 
low  and  forlorn  as  any  human  beings  I  had 
ever  seen.  Cobblestones,  thick  in  places,  but 
usually  scattered  around,  like  potatoes  spilled 
from  a  cart,  were  strewn  on  a  foundation  of 
sand,  the  surface  of  which  every  fresh  breeze 
threw  into  the  air.  How  could  there  be  a  more 
cheerless  place  to  live  in,  where  sage-brush 
had  hard  work  to  grow,  and  nothing  what 
ever  could  be  planted  with  the  least  hope  of  a 
crop? 

Homili  had  a  rough  bench  beside  his  lodge. 
He  motioned  us  to  sit  down  while  he  stood 
with  his  Indian  talker  in  front  of  us.  As  soon 
325 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

as  he  could  get  his  breath  after  our  quick 
walk,  Homili  said:  "This  home  better  for 
Chief  Homili!" 

"How  is  that,  Homili ?"  I  asked. 

"Oh,  Umatilla  agent  good  man,  but  Uma- 
tilla  Eeserve  makes  Homili  a  slave.  Here  til- 
licums  all  free,  laugh  and  play,  shoot  sage- 
hens,  fish  in  the  river,  do  what  they  like.  All 
his  tillicums  'heap  good'!" 

I  understood.  ' '  Anything  more,  Homili  ? ' ' 
I  inquired. 

"Yes,  Smoholly  's  my  friend,  my  priest. 
He  dreams  great  dreams,  and  he  tells  all  the 
Columbia  Indians,  miles  and  miles  up  and 
down  the  great  river,  about  the  Great  Spirit ; 
and  often  what  's  coming.  He  cures  sick  folks 
by  good  medicine  and  drumming.  He  's  a 
great  Indian— Homili 's  friend.  Umatilla 
agent  don't  want  my  friend,  says  Smoholly 
makes  trouble.  Not  so,  he  makes  my  heart 
glad!" 

326 


Honiili  took  off  his  tall  hat  and  shook  it  at  us" 


HOMILI 

That  was  all,  and  we  parted  good  friends. 
He  rode  a  small  half-starved  Indian  pony  to 
see  me  off  on  the  little  "strap  railroad"  that 
then  ran  eastward  to  Fort  Walla  Walla 
thirty  miles  away.  From  the  back  platform 
of  the  only  passenger-coach  Boyle  and  I 
waved  our  hats  to  Chief  Homili,  for  he  rode 
on  the  side  of  the  train  for  half  a  mile.  A 
good  smart  pony  could  have  kept  up  with  that 
strap-rail  train  all  the  way,  but  thin  grass, 
very  poor  sage-brush,  and  the  fat  Homili  rid 
ing,  half  the  time,  did  not  allow  his  pony 
either  proper  food  or  strength,  so  that  the 
good-natured,  jolly  chief  and  his  mount  soon 
fell  behind  what  the  Wallula  white  people 
called  the  "  burro-cars. "  Homili,  losing  the 
race,  took  off  his  tall  hat  and  shook  it  at  us 
for  a  good-by,  and  then  turned  back  to  the 
barren  home  of  his  choice.  Two  of  his  cross 
yellow  Indian  dogs,  more  like  young  wolves 
or  fierce  coyotes  than  civilized  dogs,  con- 
329 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

tinued  the  race  a  while  longer,  hopping  about 
near  the  engine  and  barking  at  the  fireman 
who  threw  chunks  of  wood  at  them.  At  last 
they  turned  toward  Wallula,  dropping  their 
tails  behind  them  and  looking  at  us  as  they 
passed  for  all  the  world  as  if  they  were 
ashamed  of  such  a  slow  coach  as  ours.  So 
ended  my  first  visit  with  Homili. 

The  next  time  I  came  up  the  Columbia  I 
stayed  overnight  at  the  Wallula  Hotel,  a 
funny  tavern,  where  the  partition-walls  were 
as  thin  as  laths.  My  friend  the  tavern- 
keeper  always  gave  me  a  room  situated,  as  he 
said,  in  the  " bosom  of  the  family/'  where  I 
could  hear  everything  that  took  place  in  all 
the  house.  I  had  hardly  reached  that  lively 
inside  room,  when  I  was  called  to  the  office. 
"Two  Indians  want  to  see  the  General!"  so 
the  office  boy  called  out  at  my  door.  On  en 
tering  the  office  I  met  two  Indian  messengers 
with  a  white  man  called  Pambrun.  Pambrun 
330 


HOMILI 

had  an  Indian  wife,  and  could  talk  several 
Indian  languages.  He  lived  ten  miles  from 
Wallula  toward  Walla  Walla,  and  was  much 
respected  by  whites  and  Indians.  The  In 
dian  messenger's  speech  was  brief  and  clear, 
for  Pambrun  put  it  in  good  English.  They 
had  paddled  across  the  Columbia  from 
Smoholly 's  village.  He  wanted  General 
Howard,  the  new  commander  of  the  soldiers, 
to  come  over  the  great  river  and  see  him  and 
his  tillicums;  they  had  come  together  from 
many  tribes.  His  village  was  opposite  the 
Homili  Falls,  above  where  the  Snake  Eiver 
comes  into  the  Columbia.  I  told  Pambrun  to 
tell  the  messenger  to  say  to  Smoholly  that 
General  Howard  would  remain  the  next  day 
at  Wallula,  and  that  if  Smoholly  wished  to 
see  him  during  the  day  he  could  do  so  by  com 
ing  to  Wallula. 

The  rumor  which  troubled  all  the  Indians 
of  that  up-country  was  that  General  Howard 
331 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

had  been  ordered  by  the  Washington  Presi 
dent  to  put  them  all  on  the  reservations  to 
which  they  belonged. 

The  Indians  went  back  to  Smoholly  with 
my  message,  but  he  was  afraid  to  put  himself 
in  my  power,  because  he  was  the  head  and 
front  of  all  the  lawless  bands  which  went 
roaming  over  the  country — Indians  of  whom 
the  white  settlers  never  ceased  to  be  afraid. 
Then  Pambrun  sent  Smoholly  word  that 
" Arm-cut-off "  (the  name  Homili  gave  me) 
was  a  mild  man  and  would  do  him  no  harm. 
Surrounded  by  a  multitude  of  harem-scarem 
tillicums,  men,  women,  and  children,  Smo 
holly,  the  next  day,  early  in  the  afternoon, 
made  his  appearance  at  Wallula. 

The  tavern-keeper  gave  us  the  use  of  his 
tumble-down  store-house,  an  immense  build 
ing  large  enough  for  Smoholly  and  his  four 
hundred  red  folks  to  crowd  into.  My  aide, 
Smoholly,  the  Umatilla  agent,  Pambrun,  and 
332 


HOMILI 

I  sat  upon  chairs  perched  on  a  long,  broad 
box,  which  the  tavern-keeper  loaned  us  for  a 
platform.  It  was  a  wild-looking  set  of  sav 
ages  down  there  that  I  looked  upon,  squatted 
upon  the  floor  or  standing  by  the  back  and 
sides  of  that  roomy  place.  When  Homili  with  a 
few  followers  came  to  honor  our  talk  with  his 
presence,  I  sent  for  another  chair  and  seated 
him  proud  and  laughing  by  my  side.  I  took  a 
long  and  searching  look  at  Smoholly,  and  he 
did  me  a  like  favor,  as  if  trying  to  read  my 
thoughts.  He  was  the  strangest-looking  hu 
man  being  I  had  ever  seen.  His  body  was 
short  and  shapeless,  with  high  shoulders  and 
hunched  back ;  scarcely  any  neck ;  bandy  legs, 
rather  long  for  his  body;  but  a  wonderful 
head,  finely  formed  and  large.  His  eyes.,  wide 
open,  were  clear,  and  so  expressive  that  thej 
gave  kirn  great  power  over_alljthe  Indians 
that  flocked  to  his  village.  That  day  Srno- 
holly  wore  a  coarse  gray  suit,  somewhat 
333 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

ragged  and  much  soiled.  Over  his  head  was 
a  breezy  bandana  handkerchief,  two  corners 
tied  under  his  chin  and  the  wind,  coming 
through  the  cracks  of  the  store,  kept  his  head- 
cover  in  motion  all  the  time. 

Smoholly,  who. had  asked  me  to  come,  was 
requested  through  Mr.  Pambrun  to  tell  Gen 
eral  Howard  what  he  and  his  followers 
wanted.  Smoholly  covered  his  face  with  both 
hands  and  remained  in  silence  like  a  man 
praying;  then  commenced  his  talk,  using 
short  sentences.  Pambrun  translated  each 
sentence  into  good  English.  "Smoholly 
heard  that  General  Howard,  a  great  chief  in 
war,  had  come  to  command  all  the  soldiers. 
He  heard  also  that  there  was  a  new  President 
in  Washington.  Indians  call  him  Great 
Father.  Mr.  Cornoyer,  the  Umatilla  Indian 
agent,  sent  messengers  to  Chief  Homili, 
Chief  Thomas,  Chief  Skimia,  and  to  Smo 
holly  with  words :  l  Come  on  the  reservation. 
334 


HOMILI 

All  Indians  come  now.  If  you  don't  come  be 
fore  one  moon,  General  Howard,  obeying  the 
new  President,  will  take  his  soldiers  and 
make  yon  come  to  Umatilla  or  to  some  other 
government  reserve/  Smoholly,  the  Spirit 
Chief  of  all  the  Columbia  bands,  who  gives 
good  medicine,  who  loves  right  and  justice, 
now  wants  General  Howard  to  tell  Smoholly 
the  Washington  law." 

I  answered:  "I  did  not  come  to  the  Far 
West  to  make  war,  but  to  bring  peace.  Mr. 
Cornoyer  has  the  law,  he  takes  the  law  to  the 
Indians.  We  will  listen  to  him." 

Mr.  Cornoyer  began :  ' '  You  all  know  I  am 
the  Indians '  friend ;  my  wife  is  an  Indian  wo 
man,  she  is  always  your  friend ;  the  law  is  for 
all  the  Indians  to  come  on  my  reservation  or 
some  other,  there  are  many  other  reserva 
tions.  Why  not  come  without  trouble?" 

I  said  :  ' '  Homili,  I  am  sure,  can  answer  that 
question. ' '  Chief  Homili  hemmed  and  hawed, 
335 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

wheezed  and  laughed,  and  at  last  began  his 
speech. 

' '  Homili  and  his  tillicums  to  go  to  Umatilla 
Reserve!  Cornoyer  gives  Homili  leave  to 
visit  his  home,  the  home  he  loves,  right  up 
there  where  the  winds  blow,  where  the  sand 
flies,  where  the  stones  are  piled  up.  Smoholly 
is  our  good  friend  and  we  like  to  see  his  face. 
Smoholly  is  wise  and  has  a  good  heart.  I  am 
done." 

I  had  no  message  from  Washington,  so  I 
dismissed  the  council,  saying  I  would  write  to 
the  President  what  Smoholly,  Mr.  Cornoyer, 
and  Homili  had  said.  I  was  obliged  to  obey 
the  President's  law,  and  I  think  Smoholly 
would  give  good  medicine  if  he  taught  all  the 
Indians  to  obey  the  Washington  law.  The 
advice  I  gave  worked  well.  Before  Septem 
ber  nearly  all  the  Indians  came  to  some  res 
ervation  and  were  quiet  for  some  time. 
Homili,  too,  stayed  more  on  the  Umatilla  Ee- 
336 


HOMILI 

serve,  but  lie  and  his  pony  made  frequent 
visits  to  his  wigwam  among  the  stones  of 
Wallula. 

To  keep  the  Indians  contented,  Cornoyer, 
helped  by  his  Indian  wife,  induced  Homili 
and  six  other  Indian  chiefs  to  visit  Washing 
ton.  My  aide,  Major  Boyle,  took  charge  of 
the  Indian  Delegation  on  the  journey  both 
ways.  When  some  young  hoodlums  in  San 
Francisco  saw  them  walking  along  Sutter 
Street,  they  put  their  hands  to  their  mouths 
and  made  as  they  thought  an  Indian  war- 
whoop.  Homili  was  somewhat  frightened; 
he  thought  it  might  be  a  white  man's  war  cry, 
and  he  had  no  weapon,  not  even  a  bow  and  ar 
rows.  He  stammered  and  said,  "  Major 
Boyle,  what  's  that!  Insult  unarmed  Indi 
ans!  We  treated  you  and  General  Howard 
better  in  WTallula.  White  folks — bad  man 
ners  ! ' ' 

On  the  overland  railroad  he  liked  most  the 
337 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

barren  sands  and  long  stretches  of  worthless 
country,  better  than  cultivated  fields,  thriv 
ing  villages,  and  prosperous  cities.  "Bad 
lands,  you  say;  I  like  best,  more  like  my  sand 
and  bushes  on  the  Columbia. ' ' 

Homili  saw  the  " Great  Father/'  but 
laughed  and  stammered  too  much  to  say 
anything  except  to  Pambrun:  "Tell  the 
President  that  Homili  always  has  a  good 
heart. " 

Homili  got  very  tired  of  Washington,  and 
was  homesick  all  the  time.  He  kept  saying : 
' '  Mpucho  tillicums ' '  (too .many  people ) .  His 
face  brightened  and  his  laugh  had  a  happier 
ring  when  the  steamer  was  going  out  of  the 
Golden  Gate  into  the  great  Pacific  Ocean. 
Then  Homili  stammered:  "Home,  home!" 
His  mind's  eye  was  on  the  familiar  scenes  of 
the  upper  Columbia,  and  when  the  steamer 
had  been  a  day  or  more  at  sea  Homili  caught 
sight  of  the  shore  two  or  three  miles  to  the 
338 


HOMILI 

east  and  cried, i  i  Oh,  oh,  stop  this  boat  and  let 
Homilijgo  over  there,  he  wants  to  walk!" 

When  I  met  the  fat  and  jolly  chief  again 
he  said:  "You,  General  Howard,  may  like 
Washington,  but,"  shaking  his  head  with  a 
disgusted  frown,  t  i  Homili  best  likes  his  home 
by  the  Columbia  River.  Stones  and  sands 
and  Indian  tillicums  always  kind,  make  him 
happy  there. ' ' 


18 


339 


XXII 

CUT-MOUTH    JOHN 

I  HAPPENED  to  know  a  Umatilla  scout 
who  bore  the  English  name  of  Cut- 
Mouth  John.  The  Umatilla  tribe  of  Indians 
to  which  John  belonged  lived  along  the  upper 
waters  of  the  great  Columbia  Eiver.  This 
country,  called  the  "up-river  country, "  is 
used  also  by  the  Cayuses,  Walla  Wallas,  and 
other  Columbia  Eiver  Indians.  There  were 
many  of  them  on  the  lands  called  reserva 
tions,  and  many  others  roaming  about  every 
where,  far  and  near,  like  herds  of  wild  horses 
on  the  great  prairies  of  the  West  where  there 
were  no  fences  to  stop  them. 

I  was  then  living  in  Portland,  Oregon,  and 
all  the  soldiers  in  that  part  of  the  country 
340 


CUT-MOUTH  JOHN 

watered  by  the  great  western  rivers,  were 
under  my  command.  I  was  to  use  the  sol 
diers  to  keep  peace  all  the  time  between  the 
white  inhabitants  and  the  roaming  red  men. 
The  whites  were  mostly  farmers,  cattle  rais 
ers,  and  shepherds,  who  had  made  their 
homes  in  all  the  rich  valleys,  along  the 
streams  of  water,  and  on  the  beautiful  hills 
and  green  slopes  of  the  mountains.  These 
people  wanted  all  the  good  land  to  pasture 
their  herds  and  flocks;  and  the  red  men 
wanted  the  same  land  for  hunting  and 
for  feeding  their  ponies  and  for  gather 
ing  for  themselves  things  which  grew 
without  sowing  or  planting,  such  as  camas, 
the  wild  onions,  the  berries,  and  the 
fruits  of  trees.  There  for  many  years 
the  red  men  had  found  acres  and  acres 
of  "  bunch "  grass  which  made  their  ponies 
lively  and  fat.  But  the  white  men,  when  they 
came,  put  up  fences,  bars,  and  gates.  These 
341 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

the  red  men,  when  they  came  along  every 
spring,  tore  down  and  kept  saying:  "This 
land  is  ours.  Our  fathers  had  it  before  any 
white  men  came  to  this  country." 

"Uncle  Sam"  then  sent  Colonel  Watkins 
from  Washington  to  Oregon  and  to  the  "up- 
river  country"  to  talk  with  the  red  men,  and 
to  settle  the  troubles  which  everywhere  had 
sprung  up. 

I  went  with  him  on  a  large  steamer  up  the 
Columbia.  The  steamer  could  go  only  to  the 
Cascades.  Here  we  changed  to  a  train  of 
cars  for  a  few  miles,  going  past  some  foam 
ing  rapids  as  far  as  Celilo.  There  we  had 
a  smaller  steamer  which  bore  us  through 
smooth  water  forty  miles  to  the  Dalles,  a 
small  village  near  that  part  of  the  Columbia 
where  it  tumbles  foaming  and  roaring  over 
more  narrow  rocky  rapids.  People  say  the 
river  here  is  "on  edge."  Colonel  Watkins, 
Captain  Wilkinson,  and  I  crossed  to  the  north 
342 


CUT-MOUTH  JOHN 

side  of  the  Columbia  and  then  went  by  rough 
roads  over  a  broad  shaggy  mountain.  We 
had  with  us  an  Indian  chief,  Skemiah,  and 
his  son,  eight  years  old.  I  had  taken  them 
from  prison  and  set  them  free  upon  Ske 
miah 's  promise  of  obedience  to  Uncle  Sam's 
laws  in  the  future.  When  well  over  the 
mountain  we  found  the  rich  prairie,  vast  in 
extent  and  covered  with  the  pretty  cabins  of 
the  red  men.  It  was  called  the  Simcoe  Eeser- 
vation,  and  the  agent,  tall  as  Abraham  Lin 
coln,  was  called  Father  Wilbur.  So  the  red 
men  were  named  Simcoe  Indians,  the  most 
of  whom  looked  like  our  farmers  dressed  in 
clothing  such  as  white  men  wear;  but  a  few 
in  one  corner  of  the  reservation  still  had  on 
blankets  and  skins  of  animals.  Father  Wil 
bur  called  them  Blanket  Indians,— these  few 
were  the  restless  roamers.  Skemiah  was 
their  chief,  and  they  were  happy  to  see  him 

again,  and  seemed  more  pleased  when  the 
343 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

lad,  his  son,  rode  among  them  having  on  a 
pretty  cap  and  a  bright  belt. 

Colonel  Watkins  and  Father  Wilbur  called 
in  many  red  men  far  and  near  for  a  meeting, 
so  that  we  had  a  * '  big  pow-wow. ' '  Smoholly, 
Moses,  Indian  Thomas,  One-Eyed  John, 
Young  Chief  of  the  Umatillas,  and  his  friend 
the  famous  scout,  named  Cut-Mouth  John, 
came  together  to  meet  us  and  many  Sim- 
coe  Indians  near  Father  Wilbur's  house; 
each  chief  had  with  him  a  few  of  his  tribes 
men. 

It  proved  to  be  a  great  meeting;  a  council 
where  white  men  and  red  men  for  two  whole 
days  spoke  their  minds  to  one  another,  and 
this  gathering  had  the  good  result  to  keep 
nearly  all  the  Indians  who  were  north  of  the 
Columbia  away  from  those  terrible  Nez 
Perces  who  were  about  to  go  on  the  war-path. 

The  next  day  after  the  council  in  a  nice 
large  wagon  drawn  by  good-sized  mules, 
344 


An  Indian  scout 


CUT-MOUTH  JOHN 

Watkins,  Wilkinson,  and  I,  escorted  by  Chief 
Stwyre  and  several  Simcoes  mounted  on  pon 
ies,  went  across  the  prairie,  through  the  white 
settlements  north  of  Simcoe,  and  then  fol 
lowed  the  sluggish  Yakima  Eiver  eastward 
for  miles  to  its  mouth,  where  it  ran  into  the 
Columbia.  Cut-Mouth  John  and  two  or  three 
of  Smoholly's  men  had  come  on  with  our 
escort.  When  the  others,  becoming  weary, 
left  us  for  their  homes,  they  stayed  with  us 
all  day.  Smoholly  had  hastened  on  before 
us  and  crossed  the  broad  Columbia  in  canoes 
before  our  arrival  a  little  after  sunset.  Wil 
kinson  became  very  ill.  The  mules  and  driver 
were  too  tired  to  go  further.  Wallula,  the 
steamboat  landing  from  which  I  must  go  up 
the  Snake  Eiver  to  Lewiston  to  see  the  Nez 
Perces,  was  twenty  miles  below. 

I  thought  I  might  go  down  the  river  in  a 
small  boat.    At  first  the  brave  John  and  two 
red  men  offered  to  swim  a  half  mile  across 
347 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

the  Columbia  and  get  a  boat,  but  I  would 
not  allow  them  to  risk  that.  Then  they  gave 
the  Indian  "whoop"  several  times  and  when 
an  answer  came  from  the  other  shore  they 
cried  in  Indian :  i  i  Send  a  boat  for  the  white 
chiefs."  Smoholly,  across  the  river,  had  one 
made  ready.  After  some  delay  two  stalwart 
Indians  could  be  heard  paddling  over  what 
proved  to  be  a  long  log  dug-out,  rather  old 
and  the  worse  for  too  much  water  soaking. 
Watkins  and  I  ate  our  supper,  Wilkinson 
being  at  first  too  ill  to  eat.  We  fixed  a  bed 
for  him  and  placed  him  in  the  bottom  of  the 
dug-out.  Cut-Mouth  John  took  the  steering 
paddle,  and  the  other  two  crouched  near  the 
middle  of  the  boat,  paddling  skilfully  when 
necessary  in  the  rapid  river,  while  Colonel 
Watkins  and  I  placed  ourselves  in  front  to 
watch  the  water,  the  shores,  and  the  abundant 
stars  in  a  cloudless  sky.  Pambrun,  the  inter 
preter,  enabled  us  to  talk  with  the  Indians, 
348 


CUT-MOUTH  JOHN 

and  helped  when  necessary  to  manage  our 
strange  craft.  It  was  a  very  dangerous  and 
exciting  passage.  We  ran  into  many  dark 
eddies,  avoided  the  small  islands,  and 
coursed  swiftly  through  the  Homily  Eapids, 
roaring  frightfully,— enough  to  disturb  our 
nerves. 

As  we  passed  the  mouth  of  the  Snake  River 
we  shot  into  smoother  water  with  the  wind— 
the  current  and  the  Indian  paddles  giving  us 
the  speed  of  a  railroad  train. 

About  two  o'clock  the  next  morning  just 
as  the  dawn  was  appearing  we  reached  the 
steamer  landing  at  Wallula.  The  deck-hands 
were  just  ready  to  haul  in  the  gang-plank 
when  our  strange  boatload  of  people  called 
to  them.  We  were  soon  in  safety  upon  the 
steamer's  deck.  Wilkinson  had  recovered 
from  his  illness,  and  as  soon  as  possible  ate 
a  hearty  breakfast  with  Watkins  and  myself 
in  the  steamboat  galley. 
349 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

Mr.  Bedington,  who  was  a  messenger  for 
me  during  the  Indian  Wars,  has  told  me  sev 
eral  facts  about  the  faithful  scout,  Cut-Mouth 
John,  who  brought  us  so  skilfully  to  safety 
in  the  ungainly  dug-out.  Cut-Mouth  John 
was  with  our  old  officers  long  ago,  campaign 
ing  in  that  upper  country  of  the  Snake  Eiver 
in  pioneer  days,  and  Redington  thinks  he  was 
at  a  later  period  with  General  Sheridan  in  an 
Indian  War  in  which  the  Simcoe  Indians 
were  against  him.  In  one  of  those  early 
wars,  when  the  red  men  were  trying  to  keep 
back  the  white  men  from  taking  their  coun 
try,  Cut-Mouth  John  was  with  our  soldiers, 
became  their  friend,  and  remained  with  them 
all  the  time. 

Once  the  Indians  had  made  a  fort  on  the 
Powder  Eiver,  from  which  they  believed  that 
they  could  not  be  driven  back.  The  scout 
John  was  a  guide  to  our  men.  When  he  came 
near  the  fort  he  saw  his  own  brother  over 
350 


CUT-MOUTH  JOHN 

there  inside  of  the  trenches,  and  he  called  to 
him  with  all  his  might  to  come  out  and  leave 
those  angry  red  men.  But  his  brother  said: 
"No,  I  will  shoot  you,  John,  if  you  come  an 
other  step  my  way." 

John  was  too  brave  to  yield  to  his  brother, 
so  he  led  the  charge  upon  the  barricade.  His 
brother  kept  his  word  and  fired  at  him.  The 
bullet  only  cut  his  lip  or  cheek,  but  disfigured 
him  badly  for  life.  The  fort  was  captured 
and  our  soldiers  praised  John  for  his  fear 
less  conduct,  and  gave  him  the  queer  name. 

Cut-Mouth  John  was  one  of  my  scouts  in 
the  beautiful  Blue  Mountains  during  the 
Piute  and  Bannock  war  of  1878,  and  he  was 
again  with  Lieutenant  Farrow  when  he  cap 
tured  the  red  men  called  "Sheep  Eaters,"  a 
small  tribe  in  the  Salmon  River  Mountains 
in  the  year  1879.  Cut-Mouth  John  was  then 
an  old  man,  but  he  was  full  of  life,  being  the 
last  man  to  roll  himself  up  in  his  saddle- 
351 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

blanket  at  night,  and  the  first  one,  long  be 
fore  sun-up,  to  turn  out  in  the  morning. 

His  only  reward  for  all  his  faithful  service 
to  " Uncle  Sam"  was  to  be  made  an  Indian 
policeman  on  the  Umatilla  Reservation  with 
the  poor  pay  of  five  dollars  a  month. 

Once  he  came  down  to  see  me  in  Portland 
a  short  time  before  he  passed  over  to  the 
happy  hunting  grounds.    He  came  in  his  sol 
dier  uniform  to  my  office.    ' '  Who  is  this  1 9 9 
I  said  gently,  looking  up. 

1  i  Don 't  you  know  me,  General  1  I  am  your 
scout,  i  Cut-Mouth  John. '  ' ' 

I  am  very,  very  sorry  that  the  aged  scout 
was  neglected  in  his  old  age  by  the  red  men 
round  about  him.  I  am  sure  Uncle  Sam 
would  have  done  more  for  him  had  he  known 
of  his  slim  reward  and  poor,  poor  condition 
in  those  last  days.  He  was  a  steadfast  friend 
to  the  white  men  at  all  times,  even  to  the  end. 


352 


XXIII 

GERONIMO,  THE  LAST  APACHE  CHIEF  ON  THE 
WAR-PATH 

FAR  off  in  the  Dragoon  Mountains  where 
Captain  Red  Beard  took  me  to  see 
Cochise  in  his  stronghold,  lived  the  chief  of  a 
band  of  Apache  Indians,  called  Geronimo. 
His  Indian  name  was  Go-khla-yeh,  but  after 
his  first  battle  with  the  Mexicans  he  was 
called  Geronimo,  and  the  name  was  pro 
nounced  after  the  Spanish  fashion,  as  if  it  be 
gan  with  an  H  instead  of  a  G — Heronimo. 
When  this  Indian  was  a  young  man  he  went 
to  Mexico  to  trade  furs  and  beaded  belts  and 
moccasins  for  things  the  Indians  use,  and 
with  him  went  his  wife  and  many  Indian  men, 
353 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

women,  and  children.  The  Indian  men  made 
a  camp  near  a  small  Mexican  city  and  left  the 
women  and  children  there  while  they  went 
into  the  town  to  trade,  but  while  they  were 
gone  some  white  people  fired  at  those  left  in 
camp,  and  when  Geronimo  came  back  all  his 
family  were  dead,  and  everything  he  had  was 
destroyed.  At  first  Geronimo  was  so  sad  that 
he  could  not  eat  or  sleep,  and  wandered  about 
in  the  woods  as  unhappy  as  any  one  could  be ; 
then  he  began  to  be  angry  and  wanted  to  fight 
all  white  men,  and  that  is  how  he  first  made 
up  his  mind  to  go  on  the  war-path. 

GEKONIMO  was  a  very  quiet  man  and  yet  he 
danced  with  the  other  Indians,  pitched  quoits 
with  them,  or  played  the  game  of  poles.  This 
is  called  the  pole  fight.  The  Indians  draw 
two  lines  on  the  ground  twenty  steps  apart; 
then  an  Indian,  taking  a  pole  ten  or  twelve 
feet  long,  grasps  it  in  the  middle  and,  swing- 
354 


GERONIMO 

ing  it  from  right  to  left  over  his  shoulders, 
runs  from  the  first  to  the  second  line  and 
casts  the  pole  as  far  in  front  of  him  as  he  can. 
Geronimo  was  often  the  winner  in  games,  for 
he  played  very  well,  especially  a  game  called 
"Kah."1 

This  is  always  played  at  night  and  a  great 
fire  gives  light  for  it.  Sides  are  chosen  with 
four  on  a  side;  one  side  they  call  beasts,  the 
other  side  birds.  An  old  blanket  or  piece  of 
canvas  is  propped  up  between  the  beasts  and 
birds  and  on  each  side  they  dig  four  holes  and 
put  a  moccasin  in  each  hole.  Then  one  of  the 
birds  is  chosen  by  lot  and  while  all  the  birds 
sing  he  hides  a  small  piece  of  white  bone  in 
one  of  the  moccasins.  The  beasts  have  clubs, 
and  when  the  blanket  is  suddenly  pulled  away 
one  of  them  points  with  his  club  to  the  hole 
where  he  thinks  the  bone  is.  If  he  is  right 
his  side  is  given  a  stick  from  a  bundle  like 

lFor  full  description  see  "Geronimo's  Life." 

355 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

jackstraws  held  by  an  umpire.  Those  who  win 
become  birds  and  hide  the  bone.  If  they  lose 
they  remain  beasts.  When  the  jackstraws 
are  all  gone  the  game  is  over,  and  the  side 
with  most  sticks  wins. 

Geronimo  played  games  and  danced,  but 
all  the  time  his  mind  was  on  war  and  he  did 
not  love  his  white  brothers,  so  he  lived  in  the 
mountains  and  planned  battles.  Often  he  had 
for  his  house  a  short,  scrubby  tree  with  a  hol 
low  in  the  ground  near  its  trunk.  Here  he 
spread  a  deer-skin  for  his  bed  and  some 
woolen  blankets  on  a  large  stone  close  by  for 
a  seat.  I  am  sure  the  friendly  red  men  in  the 
6 1 Never,  never,  never  Land,"  where  Peter 
Pan  lives,  must  have  been  Apache  Indians, 
and  that  Peter  Pan  and  the  other  boys 
learned  from  them  to  live  in  hollow  trees. 
Perhaps  Geronimo  may  have  known  Peter 
Pan,  only  I  suppose  he  called  him  by  some 
Indian  name  of  his  own.  At  any  rate,  this 
356 


GERONIMO 

Indian  chief  lived  very  often  in  hollow  trees, 
and  liked  that  sort  of  a  home  very  much. 

Geronimo  was  one  of  the  Indian  captains 
who  was  with  Cochise  when  he  decided  that 
the  Great  Spirit  wanted  the  Indians  to  make 
peace  with  the  white  men  and  eat  bread  with 
them.  At  that  time  most  of  the  Indians  were 
very  happy  to  have  peace,  and  Geronimo 
seemed  quite  as  pleased  as  the  others,  though 
I  believe  he  was  not  yet  quite  sure  that  it  was 
time  for  peace  to  come.  At  any  rate  the  great 
Cochise  said  it  was,  so  Geronimo  was  ready 
to  ride  with  us  to  meet  the  soldiers,  and,  as  I 
was  willing,  he  sprang  up  over  my  horse's 
tail  and  by  a  second  spring  came  forward, 
threw  his  arms  around  me  and  so  rode  many 
miles  on  my  horse.  During  that  ride  we  be 
came  friends  and  I  think  Geronimo  trusted 
me,  although  he  trembled  very  much  when 
we  came  in  sight  of  the  soldiers  near  Camp 

Bowie. 
19  357 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

Most  of  the  Apache  Indians  kept  peace 
fairly  well  after  that,  but  the  white  people 
and  Mexicans  were  not  good  to  them,  and 
Geronimo  did  not  love  his  white  brothers,  so 
he  was  on  the  war-path  again  before  long. 

Then  Uncle  Sam  sent  one  of  his  officers  to 
fight  against  Geronimo  and  his  Indians,  and 
they  were  made  prisoners  of  war  and  taken 
far  away  from  Arizona  to  the  Mount  Vernon 
Barracks  in  Alabama.  Here  they  were  fed 
and  clothed  and  guarded.  Their  children 
were  sent  to  school  and  they  were  all  treated 
kindly,  but  they  were  prisoners  and  could  not 
go  away. 

In  1889  I  went  to  Mount  Vernon  Barracks, 
and  the  first  man  I  saw  as  I  got  out  of  the 
train  was  Geronimo.  He  had  a  bundle  of 
canes  of  different  sorts  of  wood,  which  he 
had  peeled  and  painted  and  was  selling  them 
one  by  one.  When  he  caught  sight  of  me  he 
passed  his  canes  to  another  Indian  and  ran  to 
358 


"We  came  in  sight  of  the  soldiers  near  Camp  Bowie" 


GERONIMO 

meet  me.  I  could  not  understand  his  Apache, 
but  he  embraced  me  twice  and  called  his  Mex 
ican  name,  '  *  Geronimo, "  "  Geronimo, ' '  many 
times  so  that  I  should  be  sure  to  know  who  he 
was.  Then  he  got  an  interpreter  and  came  to 
talk  with  me.  "I  am  a  school  superintend 
ent  now,"  he  said.  "We  have  fine  lady 
teachers.  All  the  children  go  to  their  school. 
I  make  them.  I  want  them  to  be  white  chil 
dren.77  From  among  the  Indians  at  Mount 
Vernon  Barracks  there  were  formed  two  com 
panies  of  soldiers,  each  of  fifty  Indians.  Ger 
onimo  was  very  proud  of  them  and  kept 
saying,  "Heap  big!  Tatah;  heap  good!"  and 
he  told  them  to  do  their  best  to  keep  their  uni 
forms  bright  and  clean,  to  make  their  gun- 
barrels  shine  and  never  have  dust  on  their 
shoes.  But  though  Geronimo  tried  his  best  to 
be  happy  and  contented,  he  was  homesick  for 
Arizona  and  begged  me  to  speak  to  the  Presi 
dent  for  him.  "Indians  sick  here,"  he  said, 
361 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

"air  bad  and  water  bad."  I  told  him  that 
there  would  be  no  peace  in  Arizona  if  the  In 
dians  went  back  to  the  Chiricalma  Mountains, 
for  the  Great  Father  at  Washington  could 
not  control  the  Mexicans  and  white  people 
there  and  make  them  do  what  was  right ;  and 
Geronimo  tried  to  understand.  He  still 
helped  the  teachers  and  stayed,  himself,  much 
of  the  time  with  the  children  to  help  keep  or 
der,  but  though  he  was  doing  his  best  to  make 
his  own  people  better,  still  he  did  not  love  his 
white  brothers. 

Geronimo  was  taken  to  the  Omaha  and 
Buffalo  Expositions,  but  he  was  sullen  and 
quiet,  and  took  no  interest  in  anything.  Then 
at  last  all  the  Apache  Indians  were  sent  west 
again  to  the  Indian  Territory  near  Fort  Sill, 
Oklahoma  Territory,  and  here  Geronimo  be 
gan  to  go  to  church  and  became  a  Christian 
Indian. 

The  last  time  I  saw  him  he  was  at  the  St. 
362 


GERONIMO 

Louis  Exposition  with  the  "Wild  West 
Show."  He  stayed  in  St.  Louis  for  several 
months,  for  people  wanted  to  see  him  as 
much  as  they  did  the  Filipinos  from  Manila, 
the  Boers  from  South  Africa,  or  the 
Eskimos  from  Alaska,  and  hardly  any  one 
went  away  without  asking  to  see  Geronimo, 
the  great  Apache  war  chief.  His  photo 
graphs  were  in  great  demand,  and  he  had 
learned  to  write  his  name,  so  he  sold  his  auto 
graphs  and  made  a  good  deal  of  money.  He 
wanted  to  see  other  Indians,  too,  especially 
Indians  who  were  not  Apaches.  He  was  very 
much  interested  in  other  people  from  all  over 
the  world,  the  strange  things  that  showmen 
did,  the  animals  he  had  never  seen  before— 
bears  from  the  icy  north,  elephants  from 
Africa,  learned  horses,  and  other  things  new 
and  strange.  Nothing  escaped  him,  and 
everything  he  saw  was  full  of  interest  to  him. 
Since  he  had  become  a  Christian  he  was  try- 
363 


FAMOUS  INDIAN  CHIEFS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

ing  to  understand  our  civilization  and,  at 
last,  after  many  years,  Geronimo?  the  last 
Apache  chief,  was  happy  and  joyful,  for  he 
had  learned  to  try  and  be  good  to  everybody 
and  to  love  his  white  brothers. 


i  y  * 
I  p  A 

2. 1  364 


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